The last post...very late.

This is specifically written for Danielle, Jenny, and Mike G. I hate you all.

Giverny was very pretty. Danielle was a total dork; so excited about those flowers. Then we went to where Van Gogh went completely nutso. Prof Lynn bought me lunch and Jenny was jealous. Way to go, top 5.

On Friday we did the whole Americans in Paris thing. It was not what I expected, but it was still cool. Most importantly, though, I bought a pair of really cute flats. For dinner we went to one of Hemmingway's favorite restaurants. It had a Turkish toilet. Dinner took over three hours, and not once did I attempt to go the bathroom. We finished the night with a boat cruise on the Seine. I finally got to see where Carla lives. About freaking time.

I left the next morning, And was back stateside like 14 hours later. It was weird. It is still weird to be back, but looking at pics keeps me happy.

So this is the last post and I never plan to blog again. I am back in the US and my life is not interesting enough to post about it on the internet.

Au revoir!

the Chagall windows at Reims
the poppies at Valmy
Me on some artillery at Verdun

Winding down :(

Yesterday I went to Reims, the church where French kings used to be crowned. The coolest part was definitely the three stained glass windows in the back of the church that Chagall did after the bombings of WW1. Then we headed over to Valmy to see a WW1 battle site. There are fields and fields of poppy flowers covering the area now. For dinner we had a four course meal, and everything was delicious except for the cheese which seemed like it should be hazardous to your health. We went out that night and two French men got into a fist fight over one of the girls on our trip. It was so funny because after one of the guys finally “won”, the girl decided she was just going to go back to our hotel and go to sleep. I also had a cherry beer and it was extremely delicious. So I highly recommend, yo.
Today, in Verdun, we saw the ossuary which houses the bones of 130,000 men. Over a million men died in that battle, however. We also went to 2 forts and saw where the men fought and the remnants of the battle. It was kind of a heavy day, but surprisingly interesting.
Tomorrow I am off to Giverny; the place where Monet painted the water lilies, bridge, and all that other pretty stuff. I will be so sad if it rains and ruins the picturesque view.

This past week

Sorry I have not updated in so long – I have been crazy busy, and when I finally get back to my flat, I just want to sleep. After I got back from Barcelona, I went to Versailles – home of Louis XIV, Louis XVI, and most importantly, Marie Antoinette. It was absolutely beautiful, grand and luxurious, and totally ostentatious. The fountains and gardens were very cool too. All geometric and whatnot. We also saw the “peasant village” that Marie Antoinette built, and if that is how peasants lived, I could do poverty in the 1700s. On Thursday, we focused on the French Revolution and saw the Bastille, the Palais Royal, and the Arc du Triumph. On Friday, we went to a museum about the history of Paris, and we went to the Conciergerie where prisoners were held during the revolution. We finished the day at Sacre Coeur, the big white temple on the hill in Montmarte. It was definitely one of the coolest things I have seen, and of course, they did not allow photography. That night I went to the river where all the cool young Parisians go on the weekend. They have dance clubs on boats and that night there was an 80s theme happening, so I enjoyed the Eurhythmics and Blondie. We had class on Saturday and we went to all the army museums. It was the most boring day ever. Ever. But we were in a place where Bob and Elizabeth Dole were the day before and Obama was going to be there later that day. Saturday night I went to a Canadian Bar (Caity – I had strongbow). It was called the Moose and it was a great time. On Sunday I went to see dem skullz (aka the Catacombes). It was oh so very creepy. There is also an Andy Warhol exhibit going on in Paris so I checked that out. There were so many amazing pieces there that I had not seen before. I went a lil crazy in the gift shop. Sorry mom and dad. Then I saw Angels and Demons (in English with French subtitles). Man, that movie is very suspenseful. All in all, it was a very successful week.
Today I went back to the Louvre and saw art from the 1600s-1900s. Then I went and toured the Garnier Opera house and got a non-abridged history of it from our tour guide. It was interesting, but wowza, could that man talk. Tomorrow I am off to Reims (where the kings were crowned), Valmy, and Verdun. I will be there for a few days, and then I will almost be done in France. Boo.
Additional fun facts about my life in France: I have eaten at McDonalds twice. Once I ordered a McFlurry and it turns out that in France you must “flur” it yourself. Toilet seats are hard to come by in France. Ice does not exist. Ice cream exists in abundance. If I eat another sandwich I think I might die. French people appear to be really into Taylor Swift for some reason. Bosnian women try to get you to give them money; even when they are wearing a Lacoste sweater.

some more pics!

Pictures include Gaudi's Sagrada Familia (inside and outside), the hospital Saint Pao, an elephant next to the Barcelona zoo, the fountains, and my feet (just to prove I am at a beach).

Barcelona!!!

So this weekend i headed on over to Spain! It was a very short, but totally awesome trip. We flew in very late at night, so we just went to bed immediately. The next morning I had tiramisu gelato and saw the Sagrada Familia by Gaudi. It was sooo cool. The church looks like it is melting. We had tapas for lunch. And then lemon sorbet (I thought of you, Mom). Then I went on a bike tour all around Barcelona. Man do I need to work on my bicycling skills. I do not know where the phrase "it's just like riding a bike" comes from. It was four hours and we saw everything. For dinner we went to the closest restaurant we could find because we were all starving. Later I saw the "Magic fountains" and drank Sangria. It was a grand old time.
On Monday I spent the day at the beach. I did not even get a sunburn, but almost everyone else did. It was nice to relax and chill in the sun and water. Though there were people trying to get us to buy drinks and massages like every 5 minutes. Also- side note- there are a lot of naked women at Spanish beaches. For dinner we had paella and sangria. then we had gelato for dessert (hazelnut this time). I got absolutely no sleep last night and get back to Paris and class today was awful. We had a quiz and I think that lots of people just wrote "I went to Barcelona" on it. So I at least did better than that.
Now I must take a nap. A long nap.