Paris with Pryor

Opéra Garnier

After getting back from Spain on Tuesday, I worked for a few days before I met Alex Pryor who is studying in Germany in the Paris train station.  We spent the weekend touring Paris. It was his first time here. We actually stayed in Paris too because the commute back to Compiègne would have been too much. Our hotel was reasonably cheap and huge, for a Parisian hotel that is, and we even got our own shower and toilet in our room! It’s the little things!

Notre Dame

Alex arrived late Friday night so we got dinner and then headed back to the hotel. Saturday morning we started our day off at the Bastille and worked our way down to Breakfast in America. Yes, we went to Breakfast in America. I know what you are all saying, not too French, but the food is really good and filling. I had real French toast and homefries. Yummy. If you remember I went to Breakfast in America back in August. Since then, they have built a second one and that is where we went this time.  After breakfast we continued on to Notre Dame, past the Louvre and onto the Eiffel Tower. At the Eiffel Tower, Alex and I stopped for lunch and sat along the Seine listening to a 

                                                                                         Native American band play. It was very 

                                                                                         unique.  

Louvre

Afterwards, we headed to the Champs-Elysées and the Arc du Triomphe. It started raining so we went shopping in a few stores and then by that time we were hungry again so we went to a pizzeria for dinner. Again, not too French. After dinner we were going to see a movie but we stumbled upon and Irish pub instead. We had Murphys, which was delicious as usual, and watched a Liverpool vs. Chelsea game. The bar was filled with a bunch of Irishmen. After the game, we met some kids at the bar and started talking with them and they knew the bartenders so we got free drinks for the rest of the night!

What a good dog!!

Sunday morning we got up and headed to Sacré Coeur and Montmartre. It was lovely as always. Then we made our way down to Moulin Rouge. Our next stop was the Opéra Garnier. I had wanted to tour the inside of the Opera house since I arrived in Paris, but never had had the chance to go in. It was gorgeous inside. I would love to see a ballet there someday. Afterwards we went to the Louvre, to actually go inside this time. It was the first Sunday of May so the Louvre was free to the public. Every first Sunday of the month is free admission. Everyone and their mother decided that they wanted to go to the Louvre so it was packed, but we still got to see all the main attractions.

Grand Hall at the Opéra Garnier

Theatre

Once we were done looking at art, we headed over to Montparnasse and had dinner before I dropped Alex off at the train station and headed back to Compiègne myself. It was nice to see a familiar face from home. Alex was determined to see as much as he could while he was here and we certainly accomplished that. We walked the entire length of the city! Well not really, but it seemed that way. It was nice to walk through all the streets, but it was very tiring.

O Valencia!

On Thursday, April 26^th, I left work a little early and headed to the airport because I was going to Spain! Exciting, I know. This would mark my first trip to Spain. I got there without a hitch and my friend Matt met me at the airport. I got there around 9pm, just in time to see a beautiful sunset. After he picked me up, we went and sat by the ocean, can you believe that, he lives near the ocean :) and we drank some wine while we waited for our other two friends, Ashley and Kelly to come in from San Sebastian (another Spanish town). When they got there we headed to our hostel and finished drinking some wine and catching up with each other.

Friday morning, Kelly, Ashley and I left for Valencia. O Valencia! – 10 points to anyone can guess the band who sings this?  I had the song stuck in my head all weekend! We took a quick one hour flight and arrived early afternoon. First, we checked into our hostel, the most adorable and quaint hostel ever, in which the owners even had a cat that greeted us at the door. I of course made friends with him immediately.. Since it was really nice out, we decided to take the opportunity to eat lunch outside in one of the little restaurants and then tour the city. Both Ashley and I got paella along with the appetizer sampler. Everything was delicious and so cheap compared to France. Afterwards we headed into the center of the city and walked all around.

 We ended up seeing almost all of the inner city on Friday. At night, we were out in town looking for something to do when we came across a spring version of Oktoberfest. We decided what the hell and joined the party. It was awesome because they had the long tables set up and Maβ glasses filled with German beer. They even had bratwurst and other German cuisine.  I felt like I was at the real thing, minus all the Spanish people of course. Ashley and I both had so much beer that we were completely full and couldn’t drink anymore. We even finished Kelly’s Maβ because she couldn’t drink anymore. When it ended we stumbled home and 

                                                                                          fell right asleep.

  

For Saturday, we planned to shop in the city center in the morning and then head to the beach and to the science museum and aquarium complex in the afternoon. The morning turned out to be gorgeous and we all enjoyed shopping in all the little shops. I mean, what girl doesn’t. Then as we were taking the bus toward the science museum complex, it started to downpour and didn’t let up. We didn’t get to go to the beach because the weather was not the nicest. Ashley and I really wanted to go to the aquarium because it was supposed to be one of the best but Kelly didn’t want to. When we found out that most of the exhibits were outside, we decided to pass on that as well. It was really disappointing because that was the main thing I was looking forward to seeing in Valencia. We didn’t do anything too crazy on Saturday night but we still had a great time. Even little blonde puppy got in on the fun!

 

On Sunday, my birthday, we got up and ate breakfast on the go. We went through all the markets and then headed to the airport to go back to northern Spain. We landed back in Santander and then had to take a 3 hour bus to San Sebastian.  We didn’t end up getting home (to Ashley’s apartment in San Sebastian) until after 7pm. It was quite a long day of traveling. Not exactly how I wanted to spend my birthday, but I was with one of my best friends so it didn’t matter. When we got to Ashley’s apartment, we met up with her boyfriend and headed out to tour San Sebastian which is also on the coast. It was so nice to hear the surf and watch the sunset of the water. God did I miss seeing the ocean and the beach. Then we went to dinner at a place called Fosters which served American cuisine. Afterwards we got ice cream, walked around a little more and then called it a night. We were both exhausted and couldn’t wait to get into bed.

Monday was dedicated to touring San Sebastian. We did and saw everything there was to see by midafternoon. The town was truly quite beautiful and seemed very rich.  We lucked out with the weather too. It was supposed to rain all day, but didn’t. We even got bagels, real bagels for breakfast. I had a blueberry bagel and it was so good! You don’t think bagels would be something you’d miss from home, but you do. I took lots of pictures and walked a lot and got to enjoy the sun, even got a little color, and had a wonderful day. We went home and made sandwiches and relaxed a bit before we headed to Sidrería Petritegi (a cider house) for dinner. I have never been to one and after wondering around the little town it was in and getting completely soaked because it decided to start raining, we finally found it and had a typical Basque dinner, (Basque is the region of Spain we were in) along with tasting all of the ciders.  Something I will probably never do again in my life, but amazing nonetheless.

Tuesday morning I got up and Ashley made me breakfast – bacon, eggs and toast, and then I boarded another bus back to Santander to head back to Paris. The bus takes you along the coast so it quite beautiful despite the 3 hour and 45 minute ride. I left Ashley’s at 11:15am and didn’t get back to my room until 10:30pm. It was quite an exhausting day. This was the first trip in which there were no problems and/or stupid things that I did to mess up my travel plans. It was quite a success in my book; it only took me 9 months to figure it out!  It was also my birthday so that made the trip that much better :)

Just Keep Walking ...

It still amazes me that people in Compiègne don’t drive to do normal things like going to the grocery store, to the hairdressers, to the pharmacy, to church, to just about anywhere.  On Saturday I went to get my haircut and it hit me that I walked to get my haircut. At home, that would be unheard of.  It just baffles me how we drive everywhere in the US while they walk here – old, young, everyone. Granted their towns are set up more geared to walking places rather than driving whereas at home, our houses and towns are more widely spread out. It is just another example of how life differs. 

Margarita Monday

On Monday I took the day out of work because I was meeting up with Elena's mom, Margarita, and Auntie Kathy. They were in Paris with the annual high school trip. I was so excited to see them because I haven't really seen too many people from home! So I got up and actually took my normal train into the city and met Auntie Kathy at the hotel. She wasn't feeling very well so I picked up some medicine for her at the pharmacy and left her to rest. Really, I just didn't want to get sick. Now I had a little free time before I was to meet Margarita at Notre Dame so I decided to head to the mall. I just did some window shopping because everything was so expensive. I picked out a pair of super cute leggins that were 150 euros. I decided to put those back on the rack and move along. Once I finished window shopping, I jumped back on the metro and headed to meet them. At first I didn't see them so I decided to wait by the bathrooms. If I know anything about the Dempsey woman, its that they are always in need of a bathroom! They showed up a few minutes later and I literally ran to Margarita and gave her a huge hug!

I met her kids and the other mother on the trip, but I have been out of high school so long that I didn't even know any of them. It was so strange and I felt so old. The other mom on the trip was so nice. She kept asking me questions about being abroad and everything. I felt like a superstar haha. After Notre Dame, Margarita, myself, and this other girl went to get a quick kebab for lunch. The place didn't take cards so I had to ask Margarita for money haha. She goes, "I feel like I am with Elena." I just laughed. We were supposed to meet back with the rest of the group at 1, but Margarita thought it was 1245 so she told her kids to meet then. When we got to the meeting place, at 1245, there were these two girls that basically told Margarita that they were leaving to get lunch because they didn't have time and left. I just sat there and was in awe. I told Margarita that she was loosing her touch and needs to be more intimidating! Students never would have stood up to her like that.

After that little tobacle, we walked to the Louvre. Margarita did her little tour that she always gives and right in the middle one of the girls comes up to me and was like I think I am dehydrated and feel like I am going to pass out. I handled the situation very well. I know you are all shocked because I myself am a little nervous nellie, but at the same time, I know the feeling of almost passing out, so I knew what to do. She asked where the bubbler was and I was like this is France, there aren't any. So I gave her my vitamin water and told her she could finish it. She looked relieved. Then she thought she was going to get in trouble because she had a water bottle. I was like oh my god, I see myself four years ago. Luckily I have grown up a lot since then and for the better. I am hoping the same happens for this girl. After the Margarita tour, the kids had free time, so we of course went shopping in the little boutiques and then got starbucks. She also paid for me again. I was like no no I can pay and she was like please, let me treat you. Totes adorable. She also treated me to the fancy bathroom too. They personally clean the seat for you before you enter the toilet room. Its so nice. While we were waiting, we saw someone legit buy colored toilet paper.

What did you get while you were in France?

Oh you know, the usual, colored toilet paper. I hear its one of kind.

After the Louvre, we went to the Opera and then had some more free time so we went to Galeries Lafayette and just walked around. You should have seen the line for the Chanel store. There were only Asians in it. We just laughed and were like totes China. No one bought anything because it would have cost us a kidney, but we looked around for a while and then decided we wanted to rest so we sat on the steps of the Opera. Some of the group was already there resting as well. Everyone looked so tired. After that it was time for dinner. I asked Margarita what we were having and she said she didn't know. I was like well I hope its duck! Turns out we went to the same restaurant that we went to when I was there four years ago on the same trip and had duck! I was like wow full circle. After dinner I had to leave Margarita and catch the train back home. They were headed to the Eiffel Tower. I was so sad to leave and I was like I don't want to go. I almost cried, but I didn't. I was a big girl.

It was a wonderful day and I was so happy to have met up with her.

French Easter

France does things a little differently for Easter. Let's start with Palm Sunday. Everyone brings their own "palms" to church. Their palms look more like thorns and they wrap the stems in tin foil to hold them. At first I thought it was just one family that was bringing this type of palms until I saw everyone else walking to church with them. Very odd.

Next up is Good Friday. Kids do not have Good Friday off and no one really celebrates it. At work there was no special non meat dish or anything. I found it quite strange. Everyone ate meat like it was a normal day and I was thinking the whole time, how can they be eating meat! After work on Friday, I met up with Ashley and her boyfriend. They were up from Spain for the weekend and I was so excited to see them. I had never met Ashley's boyfriend before because she met him while she was studying in Spain, but he was so nice and I really liked him. This was also the first time I had seen Ashley since I left so I was super excited. We met at Les Invalides and I got in for free because I am technically a long term France resident! It was pretty awesome. After that we walked to the Eiffel Tower. Apparently the thing to do Easter weekend is go to Paris. There were so many people it was ridiculous. The line to go the top of the Eiffel Tower was a good 300 people long. We decided to skip that and move on. We then went to see the Statue of Liberty replica. It was the first time that I had seen that. Afterwords we got soft serve ice cream - fantastic by the way - and Ashley got cotton candy. She was like a little kid standing there with ice cream in one hand and cotton candy in the other with the biggest smile on her face. After that we just meandered our way through the city and I eventually left them to head home.

I was supposed to meet up with them on Saturday but I didn't really feel well so I ended up staying home. For most of Saturday and Sunday, I spent the day in bed because I wasn't feeling well. It was a very quiet Easter. I didn't even eat an Easter dinner or anything. My friends were making chili for Easter dinner, a new way to do Easter, but I didn't partake. 

That brings us to today, Easter Monday. France celebrates Easter Monday by having a day off. I don't really know what they do today but I am happy to have a day off. Easter is like the forgotten holiday in France. No one decorates or has Easter eggs hunts or anything. It was very weird. There was hardly any Easter candy in the grocery store too. There is no Easter Bunny in France; they have an Easter Bell. I don't really understand how a bell is supposed to bring candy but that is what their tradition is. As you can tell, I am looking forward to an American Easter next year!

We did get to get a family picture though. It is by far the most interesting family picture we have to date.

Little Blonde Puppy even made the family photo :)

Hope everyone had a nice Easter!!

I'm a Big Kid Now

This morning my alarm went off at 4:04! Yup, you heard correctly. I was up and getting ready before most of you reading this (in the US) had even gone to bed. Crazy to think about, huh? The reason you ask, why I would get up at such an ungodly hour, would be because I had at meeting in Briare. I had to catch the 5am train and of course walk to the train station because the buses don’t run that early. I was then meeting my boss at the metro stop where he would then drive us the two hours to Briare. This would be the first time I was going to see the facility in Braire. Luckily, my boss let me sleep in the car on the way there! Because we got there early, we stopped at a little café and had coffees. If you know me, I don’t drink coffee, because quite frankly, I don’t like the taste. I decided to cave today because I knew I had a long day ahead of me. I mean it wasn’t even 9am and I had already been up for nearly five hours!

We finally arrived and the meeting began with of course, another round of coffees. I felt bad not taking one because the secretary made me one so I reluctantly drank it. After that, I was peppy and ready to go (I really didn't need the second coffee). One person gave a presentation and then after him it was my turn. I was a little nervous to present what I had prepared so far, but there was really nothing to worry about. Everything went smoothly and afterwards we all discussed the future of the catalogue and everyone’s expectations and envisions of the final product. By this time it was already noon. Noon has become my favorite time of day, because that means lunch!

The four of us got in the car and drove to a restaurant down the road. It was a cute little place we were then served a six, yes six, course meal! They gave us a pre-appetizer to our duck salad appetizer, which was then followed by a nice array of veal and mashed potatoes, a pre-dessert, then apple crumble and lemon sorbet for dessert (at least this was what I chose to order). Our lunch was accompanied by a bottle of red wine too! After dessert we had yet another coffee and little cookies. I went from never drinking coffee, to drinking three in one day! By this time, my boss told me I would have to drive home because he might not make it. We were all stuffed and the best part was the company paid for lunch :). It was so awesome. I felt like such a grown up!!

After lunch, we toured the factory where we were showed how the rubber comes to be, well rubber parts. We saw the whole process and was able to watch some of the slabs be extruded from the machine and cut into certain sizes. We then saw another machine that punched out circular shapes from another slab of rubber. I was very engaged and even asked questions! We got to take some of the waste pieces too. I now have a souvenir from work.

Once we toured the factory, we got back in the car and headed home. We did have to make a pit stop though because part of the bummer of my boss’ car was flapping in the wind. We stopped at a gas station and got duct tape and he taped his car back together. He told me, “this is the American way!” I said that it was stylish and we continued on our way home. I really like my boss and his sense of humor. Altogether it was a very successful day and I got to eat a very gourmet lunch paid by the company. I just still can’t get over it!!

Spring Break in the Alpes

Last Saturday, March 3^rd, I headed to Les Deux Alpes, France with seven other friends. We were going to be skiing in the Alpes for our “Spring Break.” We took the train from Paris to Grenoble and then took a bus to Les Deux Alpes. Stephan met us there with his car because he was in Lyon for a skating competition. We all arrived at our apartment, which was awesome to say the least. There were three bedrooms, a living room with a couch and trundle, a dining room, and a fully equipped kitchen. It even had a dishwasher! We were so excited to finally be in the Alpes and the apartment made it that much better. Because we got there so late, we headed to bed and would get up early Sunday morning for our first day of skiing!

We chose Les Deux Alpes because the apartment we found came with a 6 day all inclusive ski pass for everyone. It was a great deal. Due to the location of the town, situated in the valley between two Alpes, there were tons of different slopes to do. Les Deux Alpes started at 1650m and went all the way to 3600m. You could go all the way to the top and ski down! It was so awesome to be that high up and you could see all the peaks of the other mountains as well as being at eye level or above the clouds!

On Sunday we went to the grocery store while it was still open and then headed out to the slopes. We all had to rent skis and Stephan and Grace rented snowboards. I went skiing the first day, but seeing as I have not been skiing since I was 10, it took me a little while to get used to it. After sliding down half the slope on my back with my skis pointed in two different directions, I decided to call it a day and moved onto snowboarding for the rest of the week. We all ate lunch at the lodge halfway up the mountain. Again, the view was breathtaking.

For the rest of the week I snowboarded with Grace. We had a lot of fun and definitely a lot of laughs. We were pretty sore by the end, but it was definitely worth it. One of the kids on the trip had a hi-tech video camera and caught some awesome footage of us skiing, snowboarding, and wiping out.  The weather was also fantastic while we were there and we had great conditions every day. It was the first full week of sun I have had since being in France I think!

Every night we made dinner at home and the usually had enough left over for lunch the next day which worked out perfectly. We made chili, steaks, wild rice and chicken soup, and the Swedes made a traditional Swedish meal one night. On Friday night, our last night, we all went out to dinner at a local restaurant and had fondue. It was delicious. Some nights we went out to the bar, and others we stayed in and watched movies. One night a couple of us went ice skating.

Altogether the trip was a relaxing week filled with skiing, snowboarding, drinking, and just hanging out with friends. I couldn’t have asked for a better “Spring Break.”