The Cote d'Azur

4:11 p.m.

In Nice the past two days has been phenomenal. Both yesterday and today, the weather has been beautiful and seven other girls and I have layed out for at least 4 hours each day. I'm getting a little color. The best part about laying on the beach in France (or any European country for that matter) is you get to lay out "European style. " I would rather not explain this if you don't already know! Tomorrow, we plan on going to Cannes for the film festival, and of course, lay out on the beach some more. Yesterday, my friends and I went up to the chateau in Nice. It had an amazing view of the coastline and the port of Nice.

One of the best parts of the beach in Nice; the airport is so close that the planes flying in soar right over you. I can't wait for tomorrow. More relaxation! Plus...maybe we will see someone famous at the film festival! :)

My Last Days in France

12:06 p.m.

It is getting down to the last two weeks in Grenoble. I am starting to get anxious, but also, sad. I want to go home and see friends and family, but I know that I am going to miss my friends and new family here so much. Things will never be the same back home. I realized I have changed a lot within the last four months, but I can't exactly tell you how. There are certain things, I have much different perspectives on in life. The only way I can describe this whole experience is "enlightening."

I feel like I will have a little trouble re-adjusting to reality. Because Grenoble has become home, I know I will miss it. My friends here are the only people I can ever imagine being in Europe with. They have had adventures right along with me, and not being around them will be a hard adjustment. They have helped to change my life, along with Annie, and Miranda. I am so thankful for this experience.

Traveling in France -Paris, Nice, Monaco (which technically is NOT France) and a lot of Provence

8:19 p.m.

I only have about 22 days left in France. It is unbelievable. I have been so busy the month of April! It has been amazing! Glen came to visit for spring break I met him in Paris. We did all the sightseeing things that I did before with AIFS, in addition to Centre Pompideu and Le Musée d'Erotisme-which was interesting. Everyday, Glen thought it was absolutely essential to get fresh baguettes. It was amusing that he was obsessed with them! Then we took at flight down to Nice and hung out on the Promenade d'Anglais by the Mediterranean and explored Old Nice. We, also, spent half a day in the country of Monaco. We saw Le Casino de Monte-Carlo and a million nice cars that I could NEVER afford. They were probably worth more than my life...by far! :) We saw the Port of Monaco and the Prince's Palace. Because Monaco is still ruled by a Prince, it is a little different when it comes to the government. We had trouble with getting back to Grenoble because the trains were on strike. We had to jimmy-rig our tickets to get to Lyon, the closest city with a train still going to it to Grenoble. By the time we got to Lyon though, the train from Lyon to Grenoble had been erased, too!

Annie and her uncle took us to Chartreuse, where the monks make the alcohol and Chateau de Vizille. We spent a day showing Glen those two places. I think he liked it! :) But then, there was all the trouble with the planes and the Icelandic volcano erupting. I got him to Paris the night before his flight, and we slept on the hard, cold airport floor with hundreds of other stranded travelers. The only reason he made his flight the next morning is because we cut in line, in front of about 500 people. But, he made it home, and that's what counts.

This past weekend, I spent with my AIFS friends in the region of Provence in France. It was probably my favorite trip other than Italy. We left on April 23 and returned to Grenoble on the 25th, but saw so many different and interesting things.

The first day, we drove to Chateauneuf-du-Pape and did some wine-tasting at 10:45 a.m. at the Musée du Vin. YUMMY! I bought a little wine, and then we were on our way to our next destination. Le Pont du Gard was where we ate lunch. Le Pont du Gard is actually, a ruin of a Roman aqueduct built in around 19 B.C. Pretty dang old. It is the tallest aqueduct still in existence in the world and was once around 50km! Quite the civil engineering feat, if you ask me. We picnicked on the rocks by the river, skipped stones, and played in the water. It was an absolutely enchanting place to have lunch! The last place we went that day was the city of Avignon. This is where the papacy was moved from Rome from 1309-1378. We visited the Papal Palace and Le Pont d'Avignon. The city itself was very medieval looking. The city walls from the Middle Ages were still intact and gave the city a romantic feel.

The second day began by driving to Tarragon. We visited the Chateau that was once inhabited by Le Roi René...I think. Miranda gave us a tour and explained what all the rooms were once used for. It was magical, walking around a REAL castle. Honestly, I think that it may someday be the setting for a book I may write. Inspirational, to say the least. Arles, the city where Van Gogh painted, where the Romans built an arena (which they still have bull-fights in) and was an important Roman outpost was quite and VERY "provincial." I saw the actual location of the cafe which Van Gogh painted that is one of his more famous works. :) This made me VERY happy. The small town Les Baux de Provence was next on our agenda. This is where the name Bauxite comes from (you know, the type of rock). The town was built into the rock and was situated on a hill that overlooked groves of olive trees and vineyards. The chateau on the top of this town was in ruins, but still had the fell of something very old, almost mysterious. I wish I could describe better what all of these places made me feel like. The best I can do, I would say, was that they were inspirational in an other-worldly way. At the bottom of the town, was a quarry. Miranda took us to La Cathedrale d'Images, which projected pictures and videos on the walls of the quarry. Music accompanied the images of Australia. It was similar to an IMAX theater, but made out of nature, in that the screens were rock. Once on the bus again, we were taken to Saintes Maries de la Mer, a city situated on the coast of the Mediterranean. On our way, we passed through La Camargue; the swampy marshlands of France. Here, we saw pink flamingos in the wild. Once we were all settled into our hotel, Miranda took us out to a Spanish dinner with a Spanish band and a flemenco dancer!

The last day, we woke up and went horseback riding in the Camargue on the traditional horses of the region. The horses in southern France are born with darker colors and when they get older, they turn white. After horseback riding, I spent the rest of the afternoon laying on the beach and soaking up the sun with my AIFS friends! What a wonderful weekend! :)

Barcelona, Spain

10:55 a.m.

My weekend was spent in Barcelona, Spain. Excellent choice! There was so much to take in because the city is full of modernist art and gorgeous architecture. The only problem was, I only spoke about three words of Spanish (Gracias-Thank You, Por Favor-Please, and Losciento-Sorry), but I suppose those are the only words you REALLY need to get by. I drank a lot of Sangria while we were there. Also, I got some sun! Really, it was more of a sun-burn than a tan, but I'll take what I can get.

I was with two other guys the majority of the time, Ricky and Tomasz. We saw a lot of architecture by the famous "Gaudi" which was amazing because it is so different than anything I have ever seen. Casa Mila, Casa Ballto, Park Guell, and Sagrada Familia were the big things we saw. Also, we went to the Port of Barcelona and hiked up to a castle/fortress that protected the city from invaders on the Mediterranean. I took a little nap on the beach, and then, we walked around the city discovering Park de Ciutadella and the Arc de Triomf of Spain.

The main difference between Barcelona and France that I found, was the colors. There were colorful mosaics and curvy, crazy monuments everywhere. Even the street lamps were artistic. I can't wait to go back to Spain!

A little frustration...

5:40 p.m.

I just got back from a much need run. Listening to music and burning some energy got my mind off of home, the 8 page French paper I need to write, and my homework. Blah... Things in Grenoble are slowly wearing me out. I am not as excited about France as I was at first. Little things are starting to bother me. For example: Annie. Don't get me wrong, she is a great "host-mom," but I am not crazy about little things that she does. For one, she LOVES to gossip about who is sleeping with who, who is being scandalous with married men, and who is in love with who. I don't really care. She acts like life is a soap opera. It doesn't have to be. Another thing that has been bothering me lately. It is starting to bother me that I can't be more "independent." I want to make my own coffee in the morning. I want to wake myself up in the morning. I don't need to have a babysitter to do these things for me. I am twenty years old. I would never be okay with having a maid. Help every once in awhile is great, but I like to do certain things my own way.

The French as a whole bother me. French fashion in Grenoble is a joke. I just want to scream at the people on the tram every morning, "It wouldn't hurt you to wear some color! You are boring!" Gray, black, and brown are not the only colors that exist on a color palate.

I don't feel as free and as carefree as I do in the U.S. partly because Miranda has warned us over and over and over again to be careful. I find myself being overly cautious, which is not a lot of fun in the grand scheme of things. I want to be able to go for a run without being stared at. Apparently, French women don't think running is cool.

I like my experience here, on the whole, but there are just a few little things that are starting to drive me BONKERS!

Geneva, Switzerland

10:17 p.m.

Yesterday, I was in the Swiss Alps instead of the French Alps! I went with my AIFS group to Geneva. We left early in the morning, and we visited the United Nations building first. It was really interesting. Then we visited the Red Cross Museum. Not my favorite thing in the world, but nice to learn a little history, I suppose. Then, we went to the center of Geneva. The "old" Geneva. It was a very clean and cute city, but expensive. I have NEVER seen so many porshes, BMWs, and Mercedes just cruising around! I bought some Swiss chocolate, because I was told it was absolutely necessary. After I bought it, I understood why! :) DELICIOUS! Jenn and I ventured out on our own and visited St. Peter's Cathedral and got an amazing view of the city from one of the towers. Then we strolled down a few narrow streets until we were walking along the lake. We got some great pictures of "le Jet-d'eau" which is a huge jet of water that sprays up from the lake. Apparently, it is a huge civil engineering feat. Pretty cool to look at! All in all, a good day!

PARIS!!!

March 19, 2010

8:52 a.m.

BONJOUR! The past week has been a crazy one. From, going to the Opera "Don Giovanni," to ice-skating, to hiking the Bastille, to being sick. And now as I am getting over my cold, I am in Paris, France.

Yesterday, I got here at around 1:15 p.m. with the rest of my group by train. We got to our hotel, which is near the Gare de Lyon/Bastille. Miranda, our Resident Director, took us on a mini-walking tour by the Bastille (or where it stood before the French Revolution) and around the Marais quarter. We saw the Chapelle St. Louis, the Place des Vosagês (which is where Victor Hugo lived in addition to be a gorgeous little park), and walked into the courtyard of the Musée Carnavalet, which has a lot of fun history behind it. After, strolling around for supper and looking at all the fun shops, we met back at the hotel to go to the musical "Zorro." The dancing and singing were amazing. It was, of course, in French, but I understood what was going on the majority of the time! Sometimes, certain songs were in Spanish. At this point, I had NO idea what they were singing about, but it was a good time regardless.

Being in Paris didn't really sink in until after the musical. A couple of us ,who had not been to Paris before, decided to go see the Eiffel Tower at night. I can't even put into words how pretty it was. We sat and stared for about 40 minutes until it did the sparkle show. Absolutely amazing! J'aime Paris!

March 20, 2010

10:05 p.m.

Wow. My feet are so swollen from walking, walking, and more walking. But, I am in Paris, so I really can’t complain. Yesterday, Miranda took us to Palais Garnier, the famous opera house of Paris. This is where the story of the “Phantom of the Opera” originated. The Palais Garnier was decorated with ornate decorations, huge mirrors, and twelve different colors of marble. The intricate chandeliers and lighting made the receiving rooms breathtakingly beautiful.

From the opera house, we walked to Place Vendôme. The Ritz Hotel was in this square. The very same Ritz Hotel that Princess Diana left before her tragic car accident. It was at Place Vendôme that we found the first “meter.”

The Jardin des Tuileries was near the Place de la Concorde. Miranda took us through the gardens to Concorde, and we had a nice view of the Eiffel Tower in the day near another famous square.

The Tour Montparnasse has 56 floors. The skyscraper of Paris offered an exceptional view of all of Paris. It reminded me a lot of the Empire State Building in New York, or the Sears Tower in Chicago.

The Louvre is free for students on Friday nights after 6 p.m. (incase anyone was every planning a trip to Paris!) We went to the museum in search of the Mona Lisa. I was actually impressed with the size of her. Everyone complains she is so small, but I thought she was a normal portrait size. What I was disappointed with was the huge crowd around her. I couldn’t even appreciate the painting, just a glance, and then I had to get out of the way for the next tourist to get a picture of the subtle smile behind the thick glass protecting her. I saw a few other famous works by popular artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Canova, Véronèse, and ancient Greek and Roman statues, like Vénus de Milo. I was really impressed with the pyramids that were recently built in front of the Louvre.

Our last stop of our night: Harry’s New York Bar. This bar was where the “Bloody Mary” was invented. For 13 euros, one could buy an original Bloody Mary while being surrounded with British and American people. The piano player and guitarist in the corner created an ambiance that one could only experience in an English-speaking bar. Classy with a twist of down-to-earth style. An excellent choice for something a little different and un-Parisian. The story is that Ernest Hemingway frequented this bar, against his wife’s wishes. The bartender would make Hemingway a drink with tomato juice and spices and/or tabasco-hiding the scent of vodka. I wonder if Hemingway’s wife, Mary, ever figured it out.

Today, the day started with The Sorbonne-the Université de Paris. We sauntered over to the courtyard of the Musée du Moyan Âge and then saw the Pantheon…amongst other things I cannot remember.

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame was enormous. We toured the interior of the church. Next time, I hope to up to the towers. Miranda pointed us in the direction of the most interesting bookstore I have ever been to. “Shakespeare & Co.” I bought a few of the classics like “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and “Phantom of the Opera.”

The Luxembourg Gardens were beautiful. The weather was nice, but I wish that I my feet weren’t so swollen. Around when we got to the gardens, my feet were in so much pain that I wasn’t enjoying myself.

The Musée D’Orsay, in my opinion, was way better than the Louvre because there was Vincent Van Gough, Monet, and Renoir. (A few of my favorite artists).

The Champs-Élysées and Arc de Triomphe were a picture stop. My feet hurt WAY too much to continue. Tonight is a chill night at the hotel, just trying to recuperate from the past few days.