Hello All.
I wanted to update you on my plans for the summer....but first, I'm going to keep you in suspense and tell you about my week!
Thursday night - Seine Boat Cruise with CEA. It was gorgeous going along the river at sunset and we were with all of our friends so we had a great time. From there, I went with a bunch of my friends to a concert for a DJ called MSTRKRFT (I guess he doesn't like vowels). Great show
Friday - NO SCHOOL! It's the Anniversary of the End of WWII so it's a holiday in France. My roommate Justin, my friend Chris and I did a walking tour of Montmartre. It's an amazing neighborhood, and it was an absolutely gorgeous day. We started at Moulin Rouge, did a tour of the Erotica Museum (very strange, to say the least), saw a bunch of old wind mills, a small vineyard in Paris, and of course, Sacre Coeur. We ate crepes in Place Tetre, which my guidebook tells me is THE SINGLE most touristy place in Paris...but the crepe was delicious! Montmarte reminded me of San Francisco in some ways...really quaint buildings, hills, gorgeous trees and view of Paris. It's worth spending 4 or 5 hours exploring Montmartre if you're ever in Paris. Very enjoyable afternoon. I'll post pictures of it soon.
(SPOILER ALERT! This is the part where I reveal my summer plans)
After coming back from Montmartre, I talked with the Assistant Director of my camp. I had discussed the summer a lot with my parents. For most of the semester, I had been planning to stay in France after my finals...try and get an internship in Bordeaux or Paris and improve my French. But that means I would have no money next year at school and it would definitely be very expensive to stay in Europe. A position opened up at camp and I decided to take it. I didn't go back to camp last summer but I was there the previous 4 summers before that.
So, this summer, I'm leading the Pacific Northwest trip for Thunderbird. I am so excited...I did this trip as a camper in 2002 and now I get to lead it. I have wanted to lead a trip like this for a long time and I lead the 21 day 2 summers ago. I'll be making some money, not SPENDING any money, and I will definitely not be bored, at all, for the entire summer. The trip is a backpacking trip around Washington and Oregon. When I was a camper, we did an Olympic Coast hike, on the beach, a day trip to Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens, a 7 day in the Olympic Rainforest and a 6 day in the Cascades. We also did a white water rafting trip that was amazing. I'll be at camp from June 11 until August 14 but I'll definitely be able to keep in touch.
So now I am planning on coming home in the beginning of June. I will be sad to leave Paris and Europe but I am ready to be in the wilderness all summer. From one crazy adventure to another. I think I'm doing a pretty good job of avoiding the 'real world'.
I have friends coming in town from May 14 to May 22. Jeremy Borovitz, recent graduate of the University of Michigan and future Peace Corps Volunteer, will be stopping in Paris for a few days this next week. Then, 4 of my pledge brothers are coming for 4 nights, the end of their European tour. Theo, Jaryd and Evan all came to Europe after they finished at Michigan for the semester and Marshall (who I visited in Barcelona) has been traveling for a while and will end in Paris. I'm really excited to see all of them and play tour guide again...but I think I won't cram so much into each day this time.
Friday night I went to dinner with a bunch of my friends at a really good Moroccan restaurant. We didn't sit down until 11:45 but had a really fun dinner. I went to another concert after that and went home a little early (early being 3:30) and fell asleep.
Saturday was very relaxing. It was rainy all day so I got a bunch of studying done, sent a few e-mails, caught up on the Office, and just relaxed. My roommate's parents were in town for the day (Justin's mom is a flight attendant and his Dad came with for her trip to Paris) so we went out to lunch. It was fun to meet them; they were very nice. At about 6:00, the weather suddenly cleared up and it was sunny and beautiful! I cooked dinner with my friend Chris - pasta with veggies, chicken, and sausage - and we had a few bottles of wine, with our other friends Will and John.
We all went to this bridge is Paris called Pont des Arts. It's one bridge west of the Pont Neuf and looks out at the Ile de la Cité and Notre Dame (or the Eiffel Tower from the other view). A lot of Parisiens hang out there at night, drinking wine and relaxing with their friends. We met up with our French friends, a group of girls our age who are studying in Paris. We've hung out with them a lot the past few weeks. They'll meet us at bars, come over to our apartments, etc. They're very funny and we pretty much always speak French. We hung out with them at the bridge and some of our American girl friends came too. It was one of my favorite nights in Paris! How can you not be happy when you're surrounded by great people and the most amazing views. You're drinking wine on the Seine! It was a clear, beautiful night and we all just really enjoyed ourselves.
Today is Sunday. I woke up and went to the local market. I bought the most amazing baguette, eggs, vegetables, fruit, and cheese. I made myself a great breakfast: an omelette with spinach, mushrooms and onions; an orange, and bread with jam. Its not that warm out but very nice and sunny. I think I'm going to go for a run in a few minutes, then dinner tonight with Hillary and Carrie August, and presumably Pierre (Hillary's boyfriend).
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY Mom (and Nonnie and Mamo and all the other mother's out there). Miss you all and will hopefully be able to talk to you sooner than originally expected!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Back to Reality
Now that I'm back in Paris, I can finally get on a real schedule.
The return of Monday night "family" dinners - made burgers yesterday and mexican salad a week ago
The return of French class and the dreaded 8:30 am phonetics. Homework.
The return of lectures. Art History teacher is just the most boring woman alive, literally, and learned about the French Justice system in my Current Events class - really interesting.
The return of a computer! Catching up on E-mails. The long process of updating my blog (sorry!)
Catching up with all my friends and their spring break adventures.
Realizing that I don't have much time left in Paris and getting serious about my "To-Do" List, which includes:
- L'Orangerie (Monet's Water Lily paintings)
- Versailles Gardens (I was there in winter, definitely not the full experience)
- Normandie
- Musée Carnavalet (which I just did yesterday, Tuesday, May 5. It was decent, really cool paintings and models of what Paris used to look like and a lot of artifacts without much, if any, explanation)
- Palais de Tokyo
- Opera House
- Visit each arrondisement (I still need to get to the 16th and the 19th)
This past weekend, friends from Florence came to Paris to visit. My friend Marc Kovarsky from high school, Josh Keller (from Deerfield), and 2 of their friends from Florence (who both go to Indiana) arrived in Paris at midnight on Thursday night. I played tour guide for the weekend. Friday was the French Labor Day. Nobody works (and if you do, you get paid double), and the socialists and leftists have huge rallies. NOTHING was open, not the Louvre, not the Pompidou, not the department stores, only tiny shops and restaurants for the tourists.
Friday:
This is the day that I led my friends on. It was pretty nuts, but a great way to see Paris when no museums are open and its 70 degrees and sunny!
Aaron's Exhausting Tour of Paris:
1) See the outside of Pompidou (and realize that every museum in the city is closed)
2) Lunch at L'As du Falafel (best falafel in the world, Lenny Kravitz's favorite place)
3) Bought some sunglasses in the Marais because I lost mine in Barcelona
4) Place des Vosges - oldest royal square in Paris, absolutely gorgeous!
5) Notre Dame: walked along the Seine until the Ile de la Cité, saw the outside of Notre Dame
6) See where Aaron takes classes, at 6 rue de Fouarre, on the left bank right across from Notre Dame
7) Walk up the huge hill to the Parthenon. I have to run up this hill every Wedensday and Thursday to get from my grammar class to my lecture
8) Pass a Socialist Party rally on Rue St. Michel near the Sorbonne
9) Relax in Jardin de Luxembourg: beautiful fountains, kids playing with boats, free chairs for everyone, a giant gold head
10) Metro to La Tour Eiffel: Get off at Metro La Motte-Piquet Grenelle and walk to the beginning of the Champ de Mars for the dramatic view of the tower. Gorgeous! Take pictures from underneath. Don't even think about going up because the line is 3 hours long.
11) Get frozen yogurt!
12) Saunter over to the Trocadero to gaze at the giant asparagus (aka the Eiffel Tower) in its full glory
13) Use the gross (but free) bathroom at the Metro Trocadero and witness a verbal fight between an Asian man and a African woman
14) Metro to Arc de Triomphe, walk around the base. DON'T RUN ACROSS L'ETOILE! Use the underground walkway.
15) Take the metro back to Glacière and sit in silence because you are amazed by everything you just saw in only 6 hours
16) Shower, get dressed, go to Sacre Coeur. Drink some beers on the steps of Sacre Coeur and listen to the crazy drummers. Great view of Paris at sunset.
17) DINNER (it's only 10 pm, early!) Le Refuge des Fondues - meat and cheese fondue with wine out of baby bottles. yes, baby bottles. Great appetizers, sangria, fun meal, sit next to strangers at a long table. Sat next to "Cosette" from the French Les Mis!
18) Run to see the Moulin Rouge! Stand on top of a vent that blows air and makes you feel like you're flying while you take pictures
19) Metro to Batofar (the club on a tugboat). Wander around the boat, up and down ladders, holding a beer, and being very confused that you're ON A BOAT!
20) Realize you are utterly exhausted and leaving for bed.
That was Friday.
Saturday:
Took it a little easier today. The Louvre in the morning. Free entrance for some reason! Saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and Nike statue, and jetted. We didn't really have the patience for a hardcore museum visit. We bought sandwiches on Rue Rivoli and at them in the Jardin des Tuileries. Walked from there to the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Grand Palais. Definitely happy to have bought tickets online beforehand. It was my second visit to the exhibit but it was still amazing. We walked around the Champs-Elysée after Warhol and decided to go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. It is really one of my favorite places in Paris. Much nicer environment to see Paris than the top of the Eiffel Tower. Took a bunch of pictures, took in the view of the main boulevards now that the trees had bloomed. This weekend was so gorgeous because there were flowers on all of the trees and everything was blooming. Tried to find a Longchamps store on the Champs-Elysée for the girls but couldn't find anything. We went back to my apartment for a little cheese and wine tasting that was great. Then the girls went to their hostel to shower and we showered in my apartment. For dinner, we went to a restaurant on my street called l'Alouette. It's a great, basic French restaurant and we all really liked the food, or at least I did! We had an appetizer of salmon tartare that was amazing. We had a long dinner that was really fun and came back to my apartment afterwards. That night, we went to a club called Duplex but on the way there, we got off the Metro at the Eiffel Tower. We stood on the Trocadero and watched the Eiffel Tower at night, all lit up. Then at 1 am, it started sparkling for 5 minutes and then shut off. It is hokey but so much fun and so pretty to see it at night. We went to this club, which was a lot of fun, and went home. I proceeded to make a full meal for my friends: Grilled chicken, sautéed mushrooms and spinach, and pasta. We watched the Bulls game on my computer. Even though they lost, we still had a great night.
Marc and Josh woke up early the next morning and headed to the airport and I went back to sleep. I had a great weekend with my visitors and it was really fun showing people around Paris. We crammed in a lot during the weekend. My one regret, for them, is that they didn't see Musée d'Orsay or Pompidou but everyone needs an excuse to come back to Paris so it's ok.
Sunday afternoon, I went to Hôtel des Invalides with my friend John. We saw Napoleon's Tomb, which is the most ostentatious, memorable monument to a dead person I've ever seen. He is buried under a HUGE gold dome that stands out in the Paris skyline in a monsterous sarcophogus. In the rotunda surrounding his tomb are sculptures detailing all the contributions he made to society, comparing them to Greek and Roman feats. Napoleon will definitely be remembered for a long, long time!
We then spent about 3 hours in the adjacent Musée de l'Armée, which is also in the Hôtel des Invalides compound. Hôtel des Invalides is an old army hospital built by Louis XIV. We went through an exhibit detailing France's involvement in the first and second world wars. It was so interesting - a great museum with old weapons, uniforms, and cars. There were videos explaining different phases of the wars. There were maps showing how the front lines changed and who was on what side. I highly recommend this museum for anyone visiting Paris. It was a lot of history to try and retain but it was so interesting.
Last night (Tuesday), I had dinner with a friend from Chicago. We went to a great restaurant near Metro République called Café Crème. After dinner, I met my friends at our regular Tuesday night bar, the Hideout, for my friend Chris' 21st birthday. We all had a great time, of course. How could we not? We're in Paris!
Now I'm FINALLY all caught up with my blog. I swear I won't let it get so behind anymore. No update yet on summer plans...but I'll let you all know as soon as I do!
A bientôt!
The return of Monday night "family" dinners - made burgers yesterday and mexican salad a week ago
The return of French class and the dreaded 8:30 am phonetics. Homework.
The return of lectures. Art History teacher is just the most boring woman alive, literally, and learned about the French Justice system in my Current Events class - really interesting.
The return of a computer! Catching up on E-mails. The long process of updating my blog (sorry!)
Catching up with all my friends and their spring break adventures.
Realizing that I don't have much time left in Paris and getting serious about my "To-Do" List, which includes:
- L'Orangerie (Monet's Water Lily paintings)
- Versailles Gardens (I was there in winter, definitely not the full experience)
- Normandie
- Musée Carnavalet (which I just did yesterday, Tuesday, May 5. It was decent, really cool paintings and models of what Paris used to look like and a lot of artifacts without much, if any, explanation)
- Palais de Tokyo
- Opera House
- Visit each arrondisement (I still need to get to the 16th and the 19th)
This past weekend, friends from Florence came to Paris to visit. My friend Marc Kovarsky from high school, Josh Keller (from Deerfield), and 2 of their friends from Florence (who both go to Indiana) arrived in Paris at midnight on Thursday night. I played tour guide for the weekend. Friday was the French Labor Day. Nobody works (and if you do, you get paid double), and the socialists and leftists have huge rallies. NOTHING was open, not the Louvre, not the Pompidou, not the department stores, only tiny shops and restaurants for the tourists.
Friday:
This is the day that I led my friends on. It was pretty nuts, but a great way to see Paris when no museums are open and its 70 degrees and sunny!
Aaron's Exhausting Tour of Paris:
1) See the outside of Pompidou (and realize that every museum in the city is closed)
2) Lunch at L'As du Falafel (best falafel in the world, Lenny Kravitz's favorite place)
3) Bought some sunglasses in the Marais because I lost mine in Barcelona
4) Place des Vosges - oldest royal square in Paris, absolutely gorgeous!
5) Notre Dame: walked along the Seine until the Ile de la Cité, saw the outside of Notre Dame
6) See where Aaron takes classes, at 6 rue de Fouarre, on the left bank right across from Notre Dame
7) Walk up the huge hill to the Parthenon. I have to run up this hill every Wedensday and Thursday to get from my grammar class to my lecture
8) Pass a Socialist Party rally on Rue St. Michel near the Sorbonne
9) Relax in Jardin de Luxembourg: beautiful fountains, kids playing with boats, free chairs for everyone, a giant gold head
10) Metro to La Tour Eiffel: Get off at Metro La Motte-Piquet Grenelle and walk to the beginning of the Champ de Mars for the dramatic view of the tower. Gorgeous! Take pictures from underneath. Don't even think about going up because the line is 3 hours long.
11) Get frozen yogurt!
12) Saunter over to the Trocadero to gaze at the giant asparagus (aka the Eiffel Tower) in its full glory
13) Use the gross (but free) bathroom at the Metro Trocadero and witness a verbal fight between an Asian man and a African woman
14) Metro to Arc de Triomphe, walk around the base. DON'T RUN ACROSS L'ETOILE! Use the underground walkway.
15) Take the metro back to Glacière and sit in silence because you are amazed by everything you just saw in only 6 hours
16) Shower, get dressed, go to Sacre Coeur. Drink some beers on the steps of Sacre Coeur and listen to the crazy drummers. Great view of Paris at sunset.
17) DINNER (it's only 10 pm, early!) Le Refuge des Fondues - meat and cheese fondue with wine out of baby bottles. yes, baby bottles. Great appetizers, sangria, fun meal, sit next to strangers at a long table. Sat next to "Cosette" from the French Les Mis!
18) Run to see the Moulin Rouge! Stand on top of a vent that blows air and makes you feel like you're flying while you take pictures
19) Metro to Batofar (the club on a tugboat). Wander around the boat, up and down ladders, holding a beer, and being very confused that you're ON A BOAT!
20) Realize you are utterly exhausted and leaving for bed.
That was Friday.
Saturday:
Took it a little easier today. The Louvre in the morning. Free entrance for some reason! Saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and Nike statue, and jetted. We didn't really have the patience for a hardcore museum visit. We bought sandwiches on Rue Rivoli and at them in the Jardin des Tuileries. Walked from there to the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Grand Palais. Definitely happy to have bought tickets online beforehand. It was my second visit to the exhibit but it was still amazing. We walked around the Champs-Elysée after Warhol and decided to go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. It is really one of my favorite places in Paris. Much nicer environment to see Paris than the top of the Eiffel Tower. Took a bunch of pictures, took in the view of the main boulevards now that the trees had bloomed. This weekend was so gorgeous because there were flowers on all of the trees and everything was blooming. Tried to find a Longchamps store on the Champs-Elysée for the girls but couldn't find anything. We went back to my apartment for a little cheese and wine tasting that was great. Then the girls went to their hostel to shower and we showered in my apartment. For dinner, we went to a restaurant on my street called l'Alouette. It's a great, basic French restaurant and we all really liked the food, or at least I did! We had an appetizer of salmon tartare that was amazing. We had a long dinner that was really fun and came back to my apartment afterwards. That night, we went to a club called Duplex but on the way there, we got off the Metro at the Eiffel Tower. We stood on the Trocadero and watched the Eiffel Tower at night, all lit up. Then at 1 am, it started sparkling for 5 minutes and then shut off. It is hokey but so much fun and so pretty to see it at night. We went to this club, which was a lot of fun, and went home. I proceeded to make a full meal for my friends: Grilled chicken, sautéed mushrooms and spinach, and pasta. We watched the Bulls game on my computer. Even though they lost, we still had a great night.
Marc and Josh woke up early the next morning and headed to the airport and I went back to sleep. I had a great weekend with my visitors and it was really fun showing people around Paris. We crammed in a lot during the weekend. My one regret, for them, is that they didn't see Musée d'Orsay or Pompidou but everyone needs an excuse to come back to Paris so it's ok.
Sunday afternoon, I went to Hôtel des Invalides with my friend John. We saw Napoleon's Tomb, which is the most ostentatious, memorable monument to a dead person I've ever seen. He is buried under a HUGE gold dome that stands out in the Paris skyline in a monsterous sarcophogus. In the rotunda surrounding his tomb are sculptures detailing all the contributions he made to society, comparing them to Greek and Roman feats. Napoleon will definitely be remembered for a long, long time!
We then spent about 3 hours in the adjacent Musée de l'Armée, which is also in the Hôtel des Invalides compound. Hôtel des Invalides is an old army hospital built by Louis XIV. We went through an exhibit detailing France's involvement in the first and second world wars. It was so interesting - a great museum with old weapons, uniforms, and cars. There were videos explaining different phases of the wars. There were maps showing how the front lines changed and who was on what side. I highly recommend this museum for anyone visiting Paris. It was a lot of history to try and retain but it was so interesting.
Last night (Tuesday), I had dinner with a friend from Chicago. We went to a great restaurant near Metro République called Café Crème. After dinner, I met my friends at our regular Tuesday night bar, the Hideout, for my friend Chris' 21st birthday. We all had a great time, of course. How could we not? We're in Paris!
Now I'm FINALLY all caught up with my blog. I swear I won't let it get so behind anymore. No update yet on summer plans...but I'll let you all know as soon as I do!
A bientôt!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Spring Break: Avignon
Final Stop. I bet you all were wondering when it would end!
Thursday:
I decided to stop in Avignon for 2 nights on my way back to Paris. Avignon is in the Provence region of France. It's a really old town that's surrounded by a medieval wall. I pulled into Avignon at about 4 pm on Thursday and walked right to the Tourism Office. They directed me to a hostel on an island in the Rhone River, which borders Avignon. It was about a 15 minute walk from the center of town. As I walked there, through the windy streets with old beautiful buildings and mansions, I had no idea what to expect of the town. All I knew was that there was a big castle there and a bridge. I checked into the hostel. It was pretty gross. There were 2 of us in a room for 8. The room smelled disgusting, like stale cigarette smoke from the original Marlboro Man. But it was fine, especially at 16 euro a night with a pretty good breakfast included. I put my stuff in the room, showered (because I was pretty gross after a 7 hour European bus ride), and walked into town.
Avignon was gorgeous! I had to walk across a big bridge to get to town. The Rhone was picturesque. There is this really old Bridge, the Pont de Saint Benezet (also known as the Pont d'Avignon), that used to go across the entire Rhone but now has only 4 arches left. It's kind of like the Bridge to Nowhere, for all of you who follow Alaska politics. Then there is this huge castle and church and some beautiful gardens up on a hill. I just wandered around for a while. It was really windy (the mistral winds blow in from the Alps and are always wisking away people's hats in Provence). I walked around the gardens for a while, looking out into the Rhone valley and at the town. Then I walked by the Palais des Papes and the main church. I walked through a good chunk of the town, just exploring. I found a restaurant for dinner and had a really good salad with all different types of foie gras and duck liver. I talked to the restuarant owner for a while. The town seemed pretty quiet considering all the restaurants that were open. Most places were empty or closed! He said that everyone is eating at home. Also, restaurants have to add a 19.6% tax to their food prices so a lot of people have stopped eating out. The French government is lowering the tax in a month or so because it's had such a negative impact. I loved being in Avignon though because I could really speak French to everyone I met. After dinner, I walked back to the hostel. There, I met my roommate for the night, Mr. Larson. Mr. Larson was a 65/70 year old guy who was biking around Europe for about 4 months. He was one week into his trip. He was a pretty interesting guy who talked A LOT. He kept me up for a long time, making me drink really bad wine he kept in a plastic water bottle, and telling me about how revolutionary it was that he could photocopy his thesis paper when he was in college. hahah, it was pretty funny though. I went to bed that night and tried not to breathe in the disgusting air.
Friday:
Woke up around 9. Had breakfast at the hostel: une petite baguette, un pain au chocolat, une bouteille d'eau et une banane. Not too shabby for being included in the price of my room (which was only 16 euro). I walked into town and met at the Tourism Office for a walking tour of Avignon. There were only 4 people on the tour, including me. A woman from Virginia and a couple from Washington D.C. Our tour guide was this funny French woman with really out there 'purple-red' hair. She had to walk really slowly because she was pretty large. She was a very jolly French woman. Her english was fine and she took us around the streets of Avignon, pointing out architectural styles, telling us the history of certain churches and squares, and telling us about the spirit of Avignon. It's a great little town, a cultural center in the South of France with a lot of artists. Every July, they have a theatre festival in the town and people just put on shows everywhere! We walked by the synagogue in Avignon at Place Jerusalem. There's a decent Jewish community and the temple is still in use. The Jews were protected by the Popes in Avignon because of their religiousness.
After the tour, I walked around some more and found an internet café to book my ticket back to Paris. I found a 10 am train the next morning that got me into Paris around 1. I toured the Palais des Papes after that. It was a huge castle where the Popes lived. For about 100 years in the 13th and 14th Century, the Popes left Rome and came to Avignon. Rome was too politcally unstable and dangerous so they temporarliy relocated to the South of France. The Vatican bought the entire town of Avignon, built a wall around it, and built it up. This brought a lot of people to Avignon, intellectuals and traders, etc. After Rome calmed down, they tried to persuade the Popes to come back to Italy. The Popes of Avignon were all French and didn't want to leave France. There was a schism in the Catholic Church for a while and there were 2 popes at the same time, one in Avignon and one in Rome. The Palace was really really cool. The audioguide was great, the churches and dining rooms were elaborate for the time and there were picturesque gardens in the courtyards. It was a huge complex! The roof was amazing, with paths walking around the castle and a spectacular view of the Rhone and the town of Avignon. After spending an hour and a half or so in the Palace, I went to the synagogue. It was supposed to be open from 3 - 5 but because it was Shabbat, I guess they were closed. I was a little disappointed, I missed the synagogues in Florence and in Avignon. I decided to go to the Pont Saint Benezet after that. This bridge was built when a 17 year old shephard came to the town and said he received instructions from God to build a bridge across the Rhone. Everyone laughed at him but then he picked up a huge rock, showing that his mandate really did come from God. The bridge spanned the Rhone, with 22 huge arches. Dangerous floods have destroyed most of the arches but 4 remain. It is so windy on the bridge! There are signs telling parents to hold on to their children! There is also a famous French children's song called "Sur le Pont d'Avignon" about dancing on the bridge. It's supposed to be "sous" le pont (which is under the bridge, instead of on the bridge, because people would have parties on the island where my hostel was right underneath the bridge. The bridge was very cool and I learned a lot about the history of the region and of Avignon.
I trekked back to my hostel and went for a run on the island. I jogged along the Rhone, passing by all of these house boats that were docked to the island. It kind of reminded me of Louisiana or something with boats in the swamps...a little creepy. But the weather was perfect. I came back, showered, and read on the banks of the Rhone. Around 8:30/9:00, I went into town to find a restaurant. I found one that looked pretty good and asked for a table for one. They seemed a little creeped out and didn't have any actual tables but they put me at a table in the bar that's usually used for people who are just drinking. So I was sitting at this table, alone, while people were getting drinks before they sat down. It was sort of awkward. But, this restaurant was worth it. I wish I had taken down the name because it was really good! The waiter was really nice to me. I ordered a cassoulet for an appetizer and he asked if I was sure. I've had cassoulet before, a mixture of white beans, sauces and meats, kind of like a stew, and I really liked it. He told me this was different, that it was fish. I figured I'd just go with it - and I made the right choice. I think this appetizer was my favorite dish of spring break. It was kind of like a purée of fish with a crusted layer on top in a bowl. It was delicious! I had steak and vegetables for my main course, along with some red wine. After dinner, I walked home and talked to my mom on the phone, read, and went to sleep.
Although it was pretty odd traveling alone (and eating alone), I was really glad that I went to Avignon instead of just staying in Barcelona. I love speaking French and being in a small town like that really forced me to speak French. Most people speak English but they were very receptive to me speaking French. I left the next morning for Paris...the only notable thing about my journey was the AMAZING train station in Avignon. I've never seen such an aesthecially pleasing train station...very modern. It made me excited to be taking the train instead of flying or taking a bus.
Finally, I arrived in Paris for the end of my spring break extravaganza. What an amazing trip. I'm so grateful to my parents for enabling me to travel around Europe. It's such an amazing opportunity to see the world and once you start traveling, it really whets your appetite to do more. Thank you so much Mom and Dad!
Saturday night in Paris I went to this really cool club on a boat called Batofar with my roommate, his girlfriend, and some of my other friends. I did much needed laundry, caught up on homework, and just decompressed from traveling. SPRING BREAK 09. Woo. Amazing.
Thursday:
I decided to stop in Avignon for 2 nights on my way back to Paris. Avignon is in the Provence region of France. It's a really old town that's surrounded by a medieval wall. I pulled into Avignon at about 4 pm on Thursday and walked right to the Tourism Office. They directed me to a hostel on an island in the Rhone River, which borders Avignon. It was about a 15 minute walk from the center of town. As I walked there, through the windy streets with old beautiful buildings and mansions, I had no idea what to expect of the town. All I knew was that there was a big castle there and a bridge. I checked into the hostel. It was pretty gross. There were 2 of us in a room for 8. The room smelled disgusting, like stale cigarette smoke from the original Marlboro Man. But it was fine, especially at 16 euro a night with a pretty good breakfast included. I put my stuff in the room, showered (because I was pretty gross after a 7 hour European bus ride), and walked into town.
Avignon was gorgeous! I had to walk across a big bridge to get to town. The Rhone was picturesque. There is this really old Bridge, the Pont de Saint Benezet (also known as the Pont d'Avignon), that used to go across the entire Rhone but now has only 4 arches left. It's kind of like the Bridge to Nowhere, for all of you who follow Alaska politics. Then there is this huge castle and church and some beautiful gardens up on a hill. I just wandered around for a while. It was really windy (the mistral winds blow in from the Alps and are always wisking away people's hats in Provence). I walked around the gardens for a while, looking out into the Rhone valley and at the town. Then I walked by the Palais des Papes and the main church. I walked through a good chunk of the town, just exploring. I found a restaurant for dinner and had a really good salad with all different types of foie gras and duck liver. I talked to the restuarant owner for a while. The town seemed pretty quiet considering all the restaurants that were open. Most places were empty or closed! He said that everyone is eating at home. Also, restaurants have to add a 19.6% tax to their food prices so a lot of people have stopped eating out. The French government is lowering the tax in a month or so because it's had such a negative impact. I loved being in Avignon though because I could really speak French to everyone I met. After dinner, I walked back to the hostel. There, I met my roommate for the night, Mr. Larson. Mr. Larson was a 65/70 year old guy who was biking around Europe for about 4 months. He was one week into his trip. He was a pretty interesting guy who talked A LOT. He kept me up for a long time, making me drink really bad wine he kept in a plastic water bottle, and telling me about how revolutionary it was that he could photocopy his thesis paper when he was in college. hahah, it was pretty funny though. I went to bed that night and tried not to breathe in the disgusting air.
Friday:
Woke up around 9. Had breakfast at the hostel: une petite baguette, un pain au chocolat, une bouteille d'eau et une banane. Not too shabby for being included in the price of my room (which was only 16 euro). I walked into town and met at the Tourism Office for a walking tour of Avignon. There were only 4 people on the tour, including me. A woman from Virginia and a couple from Washington D.C. Our tour guide was this funny French woman with really out there 'purple-red' hair. She had to walk really slowly because she was pretty large. She was a very jolly French woman. Her english was fine and she took us around the streets of Avignon, pointing out architectural styles, telling us the history of certain churches and squares, and telling us about the spirit of Avignon. It's a great little town, a cultural center in the South of France with a lot of artists. Every July, they have a theatre festival in the town and people just put on shows everywhere! We walked by the synagogue in Avignon at Place Jerusalem. There's a decent Jewish community and the temple is still in use. The Jews were protected by the Popes in Avignon because of their religiousness.
After the tour, I walked around some more and found an internet café to book my ticket back to Paris. I found a 10 am train the next morning that got me into Paris around 1. I toured the Palais des Papes after that. It was a huge castle where the Popes lived. For about 100 years in the 13th and 14th Century, the Popes left Rome and came to Avignon. Rome was too politcally unstable and dangerous so they temporarliy relocated to the South of France. The Vatican bought the entire town of Avignon, built a wall around it, and built it up. This brought a lot of people to Avignon, intellectuals and traders, etc. After Rome calmed down, they tried to persuade the Popes to come back to Italy. The Popes of Avignon were all French and didn't want to leave France. There was a schism in the Catholic Church for a while and there were 2 popes at the same time, one in Avignon and one in Rome. The Palace was really really cool. The audioguide was great, the churches and dining rooms were elaborate for the time and there were picturesque gardens in the courtyards. It was a huge complex! The roof was amazing, with paths walking around the castle and a spectacular view of the Rhone and the town of Avignon. After spending an hour and a half or so in the Palace, I went to the synagogue. It was supposed to be open from 3 - 5 but because it was Shabbat, I guess they were closed. I was a little disappointed, I missed the synagogues in Florence and in Avignon. I decided to go to the Pont Saint Benezet after that. This bridge was built when a 17 year old shephard came to the town and said he received instructions from God to build a bridge across the Rhone. Everyone laughed at him but then he picked up a huge rock, showing that his mandate really did come from God. The bridge spanned the Rhone, with 22 huge arches. Dangerous floods have destroyed most of the arches but 4 remain. It is so windy on the bridge! There are signs telling parents to hold on to their children! There is also a famous French children's song called "Sur le Pont d'Avignon" about dancing on the bridge. It's supposed to be "sous" le pont (which is under the bridge, instead of on the bridge, because people would have parties on the island where my hostel was right underneath the bridge. The bridge was very cool and I learned a lot about the history of the region and of Avignon.
I trekked back to my hostel and went for a run on the island. I jogged along the Rhone, passing by all of these house boats that were docked to the island. It kind of reminded me of Louisiana or something with boats in the swamps...a little creepy. But the weather was perfect. I came back, showered, and read on the banks of the Rhone. Around 8:30/9:00, I went into town to find a restaurant. I found one that looked pretty good and asked for a table for one. They seemed a little creeped out and didn't have any actual tables but they put me at a table in the bar that's usually used for people who are just drinking. So I was sitting at this table, alone, while people were getting drinks before they sat down. It was sort of awkward. But, this restaurant was worth it. I wish I had taken down the name because it was really good! The waiter was really nice to me. I ordered a cassoulet for an appetizer and he asked if I was sure. I've had cassoulet before, a mixture of white beans, sauces and meats, kind of like a stew, and I really liked it. He told me this was different, that it was fish. I figured I'd just go with it - and I made the right choice. I think this appetizer was my favorite dish of spring break. It was kind of like a purée of fish with a crusted layer on top in a bowl. It was delicious! I had steak and vegetables for my main course, along with some red wine. After dinner, I walked home and talked to my mom on the phone, read, and went to sleep.
Although it was pretty odd traveling alone (and eating alone), I was really glad that I went to Avignon instead of just staying in Barcelona. I love speaking French and being in a small town like that really forced me to speak French. Most people speak English but they were very receptive to me speaking French. I left the next morning for Paris...the only notable thing about my journey was the AMAZING train station in Avignon. I've never seen such an aesthecially pleasing train station...very modern. It made me excited to be taking the train instead of flying or taking a bus.
Finally, I arrived in Paris for the end of my spring break extravaganza. What an amazing trip. I'm so grateful to my parents for enabling me to travel around Europe. It's such an amazing opportunity to see the world and once you start traveling, it really whets your appetite to do more. Thank you so much Mom and Dad!
Saturday night in Paris I went to this really cool club on a boat called Batofar with my roommate, his girlfriend, and some of my other friends. I did much needed laundry, caught up on homework, and just decompressed from traveling. SPRING BREAK 09. Woo. Amazing.
Spring Break: Barcelona
Stop #4: Barcelona
Arrived at the Airport on Sunday evening. I took the train to Arc de Triompf and my friend Marshall picked me up there. I would be staying with him until Thursday. It was great to see Marshall – he’s the only other guy from my fraternity at Michigan studying in Europe. We walked around a really cool market right when I got there (I didn’t end up getting there until around 9) and went back to Marshall’s dorm. He lives in a private dorm that is half American abroad students and half Spanish students. They don’t really interact, which is too bad. Marshall spoke great Spanish, helping me out a lot with ordering and interacting with the locals, etc. We went to a bar that night called The George Payne. It was an Irish bar with Karaoke. We were both pretty tired so we went to bed on the earlier side.
Monday:
The next morning, Marshall didn’t have class so he gave me a tour of Barcelona. We went to Park Guell first, a Gaudi designed park. Gaudi is this amazing architect from Barcelona who designed a bunch of apartment buildings, this park, and a church in the 1920s. He died before the Church could be completed and the plans for the church were lost in the Spanish Civil War. It’s still unfinished today, but I’ll get into that a little later.
Park Guell was like a fantasy world. There were crazy caves, colorful rooftops, mosaics, windy paths lined with exotic trees, and tons of tourists. The Park was commissioned by a rich family (Guell) in a nice area for the citizens of Barcelona – or at least the rich ones. It was so much fun to walk around and there was a great view of the whole city. We went from there to Las Ramblas, the main shopping area of Barcelona. Las Ramblas had tons of street performers, little shops, and La Boqueria. That was the meat market, and they usually have crazy meats hanging all over: whole heads, whole pigs, pigs feets, pigs tongues, weird stuff. For some reason, they didn’t have much that day, but we got some great smoothies. After that, Marshall had class so I went to my friend Lauren and Becky’s apartment. We hung out there, catching up and talking about abroad for a while until Marshall was done. I’d been traveling a lot and so had Marshall so we decided to cook dinner in his dorm. A 2-week spring break does wonders to your wallet.
They go out REALLY late in Barcelona and sleep in late too. We woke up around 11 and that was pretty early. Most kids don’t have class until around 4 or 5 pm. Then they go to bars and clubs around 2 am. We went to a bar called Broad Bar on Monday night – I saw so many people I knew. Everyone from Michigan and Chicago was there. It was pretty fun but then the club got shut down by the police because they weren’t supposed to be open after 3 am. Oh well, we went home and got some sleep.
Tuesday:
In the morning, Marshall, his 2 friends from Florida, and I went to Park Cituadella. It was the old Citadel of Barcelona and a great park. There was a pond with row boats, and enormous fountain, and rolling mounds of grass. We ate sandwiches and hung out in the sun for an hour or so. The weather was amazing – about 75 and sunny! After that, Marshall and I went to the Picasso Museum. Picasso lived in Barcelona for a while. This was my third Picasso museum of abroad: the special exhibition in Paris and the Picasso Museum in Paris being the other ones. It was pretty small but really cool – he changed a lot from the beginning of his career to the end.
After that, we went to the Palau de Musica (the Opera House). It is a beautiful building with mosaics all around the outside and the theatre is supposed to be stunning. They were sold out of tours for the day and the next day! So I wouldn’t be able to see the inside. I’ll have to go back. Marshall had class at 5:45 so while he was in class, I went to one of the Gaudi apartments. It was called La Pedrara. I bought the audio guide and wandered around the apartment, the attic and the trippy roof! Gaudi was nuts but really fun and inventive. Every single room in the apartment building (which had about 20 apartments) had natural light. There were courtyards in the middle. The roof had these crazy chimneys and you were walking up and down these funny stairs. I had a great time in there. I met Marshall back at his apartment later and talked with my parents on the phone for the first time in a week or so! Usually we just use Skype but I didn’t have access to a computer over spring break. And I had been really really busy sightseeing.
We met our friends from Michigan for dinner at this place called Cerveceria Catalanya. It was a great tapas restaurant. We had amazing calamari, steak, chicken, Spanish tortillas, and of course, sangria! It was a really fun dinner and it was good to see people from Michigan. I went to dinner with Lauren Ringel, Jenna Carpel and Becky Klein. After dinner, we walked back to Marshall’s apartment. Before the bar, we went to another girl’s apartment and hung out there for a while. We went to a bar called Shoko that night – Japanese themed, on the beach. It was really cool. I saw people from Highland Park and Michigan – of course.
Wednesday:
Marshall had class almost all day so I met up with 2 friends from Paris! The three of us were all visiting Barcelona and all of our friends had class. Emily Haymer, Caitlin Goldberg and I explored Barcelona on our own for a while. We went to the Sagrada Familia, the Gaudi Church. It is enormous and so intricate. There are crazy statues everywhere on the building. We walked around there for a while and had a 3 hour, tapas lunch at an outdoor café looking at the Sagrada Familia. It was perfect. From there, we went to Park Cituadella and then to my friend Jenna's apartment. We all met back up with Marshall and our other friends and went to the FC Barcelona soccer match! We didn't have tickets but scalped some when we got there - 40 euro. The game was incredible! The stadium is huge, the fans are so into it, and the quality of soccer is top notch. FC Barcelona was playing Seville, a regional rival but no match on the field. They won 4 - 0. After the game, we went back to Marshall's apartment and went to a club called Duvet. Again, I had a great night.
Thursday morning:
Somehow, I made it out of bed and got to the bus station at 9:00 am to board the bus to Avignon. I had decided to stop somewhere in France on my way back to Paris because I really wanted to see smaller towns in France, so I pretty randomly selected Avignon. It took 7 hours on the bus to get there but I slept almost the whole way.
Barcelona was great. Fun vibe, beautiful architecture, lots to do. I would love to go back there and definitely recommend it to anyone traveling in Europe.
Arrived at the Airport on Sunday evening. I took the train to Arc de Triompf and my friend Marshall picked me up there. I would be staying with him until Thursday. It was great to see Marshall – he’s the only other guy from my fraternity at Michigan studying in Europe. We walked around a really cool market right when I got there (I didn’t end up getting there until around 9) and went back to Marshall’s dorm. He lives in a private dorm that is half American abroad students and half Spanish students. They don’t really interact, which is too bad. Marshall spoke great Spanish, helping me out a lot with ordering and interacting with the locals, etc. We went to a bar that night called The George Payne. It was an Irish bar with Karaoke. We were both pretty tired so we went to bed on the earlier side.
Monday:
The next morning, Marshall didn’t have class so he gave me a tour of Barcelona. We went to Park Guell first, a Gaudi designed park. Gaudi is this amazing architect from Barcelona who designed a bunch of apartment buildings, this park, and a church in the 1920s. He died before the Church could be completed and the plans for the church were lost in the Spanish Civil War. It’s still unfinished today, but I’ll get into that a little later.
Park Guell was like a fantasy world. There were crazy caves, colorful rooftops, mosaics, windy paths lined with exotic trees, and tons of tourists. The Park was commissioned by a rich family (Guell) in a nice area for the citizens of Barcelona – or at least the rich ones. It was so much fun to walk around and there was a great view of the whole city. We went from there to Las Ramblas, the main shopping area of Barcelona. Las Ramblas had tons of street performers, little shops, and La Boqueria. That was the meat market, and they usually have crazy meats hanging all over: whole heads, whole pigs, pigs feets, pigs tongues, weird stuff. For some reason, they didn’t have much that day, but we got some great smoothies. After that, Marshall had class so I went to my friend Lauren and Becky’s apartment. We hung out there, catching up and talking about abroad for a while until Marshall was done. I’d been traveling a lot and so had Marshall so we decided to cook dinner in his dorm. A 2-week spring break does wonders to your wallet.
They go out REALLY late in Barcelona and sleep in late too. We woke up around 11 and that was pretty early. Most kids don’t have class until around 4 or 5 pm. Then they go to bars and clubs around 2 am. We went to a bar called Broad Bar on Monday night – I saw so many people I knew. Everyone from Michigan and Chicago was there. It was pretty fun but then the club got shut down by the police because they weren’t supposed to be open after 3 am. Oh well, we went home and got some sleep.
Tuesday:
In the morning, Marshall, his 2 friends from Florida, and I went to Park Cituadella. It was the old Citadel of Barcelona and a great park. There was a pond with row boats, and enormous fountain, and rolling mounds of grass. We ate sandwiches and hung out in the sun for an hour or so. The weather was amazing – about 75 and sunny! After that, Marshall and I went to the Picasso Museum. Picasso lived in Barcelona for a while. This was my third Picasso museum of abroad: the special exhibition in Paris and the Picasso Museum in Paris being the other ones. It was pretty small but really cool – he changed a lot from the beginning of his career to the end.
After that, we went to the Palau de Musica (the Opera House). It is a beautiful building with mosaics all around the outside and the theatre is supposed to be stunning. They were sold out of tours for the day and the next day! So I wouldn’t be able to see the inside. I’ll have to go back. Marshall had class at 5:45 so while he was in class, I went to one of the Gaudi apartments. It was called La Pedrara. I bought the audio guide and wandered around the apartment, the attic and the trippy roof! Gaudi was nuts but really fun and inventive. Every single room in the apartment building (which had about 20 apartments) had natural light. There were courtyards in the middle. The roof had these crazy chimneys and you were walking up and down these funny stairs. I had a great time in there. I met Marshall back at his apartment later and talked with my parents on the phone for the first time in a week or so! Usually we just use Skype but I didn’t have access to a computer over spring break. And I had been really really busy sightseeing.
We met our friends from Michigan for dinner at this place called Cerveceria Catalanya. It was a great tapas restaurant. We had amazing calamari, steak, chicken, Spanish tortillas, and of course, sangria! It was a really fun dinner and it was good to see people from Michigan. I went to dinner with Lauren Ringel, Jenna Carpel and Becky Klein. After dinner, we walked back to Marshall’s apartment. Before the bar, we went to another girl’s apartment and hung out there for a while. We went to a bar called Shoko that night – Japanese themed, on the beach. It was really cool. I saw people from Highland Park and Michigan – of course.
Wednesday:
Marshall had class almost all day so I met up with 2 friends from Paris! The three of us were all visiting Barcelona and all of our friends had class. Emily Haymer, Caitlin Goldberg and I explored Barcelona on our own for a while. We went to the Sagrada Familia, the Gaudi Church. It is enormous and so intricate. There are crazy statues everywhere on the building. We walked around there for a while and had a 3 hour, tapas lunch at an outdoor café looking at the Sagrada Familia. It was perfect. From there, we went to Park Cituadella and then to my friend Jenna's apartment. We all met back up with Marshall and our other friends and went to the FC Barcelona soccer match! We didn't have tickets but scalped some when we got there - 40 euro. The game was incredible! The stadium is huge, the fans are so into it, and the quality of soccer is top notch. FC Barcelona was playing Seville, a regional rival but no match on the field. They won 4 - 0. After the game, we went back to Marshall's apartment and went to a club called Duvet. Again, I had a great night.
Thursday morning:
Somehow, I made it out of bed and got to the bus station at 9:00 am to board the bus to Avignon. I had decided to stop somewhere in France on my way back to Paris because I really wanted to see smaller towns in France, so I pretty randomly selected Avignon. It took 7 hours on the bus to get there but I slept almost the whole way.
Barcelona was great. Fun vibe, beautiful architecture, lots to do. I would love to go back there and definitely recommend it to anyone traveling in Europe.
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