Wrap Up

So it’s been a little over 3 weeks since I left Europe and I still haven’t wrapped the blog up (oops!), but I promise procrastination isn’t the only reason why this is coming so late.  In short, Europe (not sure which country yet, but I have my suspicions it was France) completely fried my computer.  Luckily it was still under warranty, so I sent it off to be repaired.  Now that it’s all shiny and new with a bigger hard drive it is finally in working order, and I just finished transferring all my Europe pictures onto my computer.  So, here are links to albums for the rest of my pictures:

Venice

Florence and Siena

Rome

Madrid 

The last 2 weeks in Europe were absolutely fantastic.  Because of a happy accident involving me not realizing what date my classes actually finished up and consequently booking a plane ticket that left for the States WAY too late combined with a really big Ryan Air sale— I was able to spend 10 days in Italy!  

I met up with Sara in Venice (she had been in Barcelona just before and got to Venice a day before me, and I had to take a train to Carcassonne and then fly through Brussels to get there— I would say the one downside to super cheap flights would have to be the inconvenient layovers, but I can deal for round trip to Italy for under $100!).  She had a friend studying there we met up with, which was wonderful, because not only did we have a place to stay, but a super nice tour guide to show us the city— and this was definitely necessary, Venice is one of the most confusing cities I have been to yet.  There were so many streets that changed names and curved around, not to mention giant canals and waterways that could only be crossed by bridges.  There is no way I could ever live in Venice (there isn’t a lot there, it’s actually quite a small town populated largely by tourists) but it was a really neat city to experience.  Just walking around and getting lost in the streets and canals was actually the best part of visiting.

After Venice we went to Florence.  I think this is one of my favorite cities I’ve visited so far.  Florence manages to be really metropolitan while still being located in one of the most beautiful regions of Italy, Tuscany.  It’s surrounded by mountains and the countryside is absolutely gorgeous.  We took a morning trip to Siena right outside of Florence, and the views of the countryside on the bus ride were just so picturesque it was ridiculous.  Other Florence highlights included 1) Seeing Michaelangelo’s David— which is huge, and perfect, and the most incredible statue I have ever seen, pictures do not do it justice  2) Climbing up the steep, curving spiral staircase of the Duomo, a basilica in Florence, it was terrifying but a beautiful view 3) Shopping! Florence is renowned for deals on Italian leather and I definitely stocked up :-) and 4) Hiking up to Piazza Michaelangelo twice (we got lost, so essentially we hiked up a giant hill, back down it, then up it again) for a beautiful view of Florence at night.

Finally that Sunday Sara and I left for Rome where we met up with Emilie, Sara’s French roommate and my friend, too!  Rome was a lot of fun, the three of us had already gone to London together and Rome was our last big trip before all going our separate ways.  In addition to seeing all of the main sites (Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Colosseum, etc.) we spent some time shopping and eating in Trastevere and visited Vatican City.  We visited St. Peter’s Basilica and went up in the dome (not as good a view as the Duomo, but still a great look over St. Peter’s Square), visited the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel, and we got to see the Pope!  He addresses his congregation every Wednesday morning so we were able to get tickets free from the Swiss Guard on Tuesday to see him the next day.

After Rome I headed back to Toulouse via Madrid, and because of an extra long layover I got to spend the morning walking around the city and doing a little shopping.  I really wish I spoke Spanish, because I could totally live in Madrid.  It was just super clean and really well taken care of— the architecture was also incredible and there were flowers and parks everywhere, two of my favorites.  After a too short morning (I would have loved to spend more time in Madrid) I caught my flight back to Toulouse and proceeded to pack/throw away all of my stuff from the past semester.  I did a really good job packing, actually, and managed to be underweight on my luggage, no clue how that happened!  Then I woke up early Monday morning to fly from Toulouse to Frankfurt, then to Houston (where I missed my connecting flight) and home to Memphis.  I have this airport thing down, I added up all my flights and I have flown 17 times in the past 4 months, kind of ridiculous.

And now I’m home!  As lovely as Europe was all the traveling/school/hanging out I did left me exhausted, I think I’m finally catching up on my sleep.  I had an incredible, once in a lifetime semester this Spring. I miss Europe, and I miss all the people I got to meet (badly, thank goodness for Skype!) and wonderful places I got to visit, but it’s good to be home.  Oddly enough spending a semester away has made me realize even more how much I love my country (not all the time, I get frustrated with my country often, but I am still and will always be an American), and my family and friends here.  I definitely plan on going back to Europe (I still haven’t seen much of Germany/Switzerland/Eastern Europe/etc.!), but for now it’s nice to be back home.  

And that’s the end!  I don’t plan on updating this blog anymore, but it should stay online, I enjoy going back and reading and remembering some of the things I’ve done as much as I’ve hoped you guys have liked getting updates as to what I’ve been up to.  I’m home here in Collierville until the end of July and then I will be moving back to Fayetteville August 1st to finish up my SENIOR YEAR of college, then another 3 years of law school after that (I just LOVE being a student I think).  Hopefully I can make it back sometime during that time period and if so there will be another blog for sure, so until then— au revoir!

Pancakes, Raclette, and Goodbyes

My study abroad experience is coming to an end!  Friday was my very last class— and a good one at that, a representative from the French cooperative Ethiquable came and spoke to us; not only was it a really interesting presentation, he brought chocolate and cashew nuts (fair trade, of course!) for us to try, yum!— and all I have left for school is a final on Monday to finish up the semester.  This isn’t going to be my “reflections on France/goodbye post,” just yet.  I have way too much studying and packing to do today.  Packing, for what you might ask?  ITALIA!  Really, I have been so fortunate to get to do  the amount of traveling here that I have.  After I take my final bright and early Monday morning I will be hopping on a train to Carcassonne to  catch a flight to Brussels and then fly to Venice from there (will be a long travel day, but total cost of transportation is under 30 euros, can’t beat it!).  I’m meeting Sara in Venice, then we’re going to Florence, possibly Siena, and Rome where Emilie will meet us.  It should be epic, I’ll be completely done with school and it’ll be a really nice way to finish up my time here.  After Rome I’m headed back  to Toulouse to pack up all my stuff (that is going to be interesting, still trying not to  think about it!) and come home!  This semester has just really flown by, I can’t believe that it has already  been 4 months.  Still, not going to be the reflective France post, I’ll do that when I’m back from  Italia :)

Foodie highlights of the goodbye’s this weekend:

• Real American Pancakes and Cupcakes (I did the pancakes,  Sara did the cupcakes— peanut butter with chocolate!) we made for Emilie (gotta share the American culture!).  The secret to good American pancakes = baking powder (levure).  The French don’t put it in their “American Pancake Recipes,” and it’s really important.  
• Raclette: really cool French fondue.  Giant piece of cheese is put under a heat lamp, once it starts bubbling you scrape it off and eat it with meat, potatos, etc.  Really yummy and fun French meal!

After the meal we walked around and saw Capitole at night— so  beautiful. Fortunately I have 1 more weekend left in Toulouse after Italy, I am going to have to hit up some of the city landmarks I haven’t gotten around to yet!

When I get back to the States, I will miss Euro Club music.  Epic and pensive, can we please check out the guy in this video— his facial hair is *almost* as cool as her rain boots (when do you  ever get to write a sentence like that?).  And I have heard this song when I’ve been out.  And I kind of love it, legitimately.

I will also miss annoyingly repetitive, but really catchy French dance songs.

And David Guetta.  

And then this weekend, I went to Scotland!

I only had class on Monday and Tuesday

***But these were definitely the most difficult classes I’ve had yet.  I had six hour days for both: 3 hour lecture in the morning, then group assignments and oral presentations of aforementioned group assignments (in French!) in the afternoon.   It was kind of intense, actually, even with presentations back home I’m used to having a bit more time to prep.  And these 2 presentations counted for 50% of my grade— so you know, no pressure!  For the first presentation we had to do an analysis of a fictitious micro-credit organization (looking at their location, accounting,  day to  day business aspects, etc.) and then make recommendations for the firm based on our analysis.  For the presentation the next day our group had to  create a “social business.”   Not the same as a non-profit or a NGO (this was news to me, truly, France has lent some really interesting perspectives to my studies), a social business has a feasible business model (doesn’t rely on donations) but also a social cause.  Once again Wikipedia explains it way better than I can if you’d like to read the article “Social Business,” it’s a really cool perspective promoted by Muhammad Yunus. Plans to read THIS when I get back to the States!  Anyway, I think the presentations went well— we had French  in our group so that definitely helped, and my prof was really understanding of the language barrier.  It’s just really frustrating to not be able to fully express myself and my ideas sometimes, but I’m still loads better at speaking than when I first came to France in February.  It’s a long process, but presenting is really good for my speaking and my confidence; I just wish I’d had a little more time to prepare!***

So Wednesday I went to Scotland to meet Ethan, a good friend from University of Arkansas who spent the semester in Freiburg, Germany.  We met up in Glasgow, took the bus to Edinburgh and stayed there 2 days, then went back to Glasgow so that Ethan could catch his flight back to Frankfurt (and the States!) Saturday morning and I could spend the day shopping before my flight Sunday morning (note to self, shopping before RyanAir flights is not a good idea— my bag was so overstuffed it just barely made it into the “test compartment” they make you stuff your bag in to check  that it’s small enough.)

Edinburgh was lovely— we took a walking tour of the city, tried Scotch Whiskey and Haggis, walked the Royal Mile, saw Edinburgh Castle, the writer’s museum (Robert Burns! Sir Walter Scott!), Holyrood Castle, Haymarket, and all of the important Harry Potter landmarks, of course.  I think my  favorite was Saturday, we went over to Holyrood and hiked up a giant hill called Sir Arthur’s Seat.  It was a bit of a climb but the views of the city were absolutely spectacular!  It was a really nice weekend with absolutely perfect weather (I finally got some sun! In Glasgow,  not in Nice, what is this?).  It was really nice to catch up with Ethan AND get to see Scotland, I had a lovely time!

Now that I’m back, though, school is a bit intense again.  I have my RAS due Friday (group project I’ve been working on ALL semester!) and my final exams on Monday, then I’m headed to Italy Tuesday!  There’s a lot to do and I still want to fit in time to hang out with friends before they leave for the end of the semester.  Somehow I’ll manage (sleep? who sleeps anymore?).  I will update again before heading off to Italy!

Also, pictures from Scotland are here 

Hi!  Once again, things have been crazy and I seem to have neglected the blog.  Of course there’s a ton to catch you up on (and I don’t want to leave anything out, I like going back to read these, too, and see everything I’ve done); I think to make it more manageable I’m going just pretend like it’s May 16th today (to talk about the 13th - 16th), then tomorrow I’ll post another entry about what I’ve been up to since then (a lot)! 

So the 13th through 16th I had a long weekend and took a girls trip to the Cote D’Azur.  It was probably one of my favorite weekends so far—  definitely an adventure.

We decided to visit Nice, Cannes, and Monaco.   We stayed in Nice (Monaco is ridiculously expensive,  and the film festival was going on in Cannes so  that was pricey as well) but were able to take the train to Cannes (to the South) and Monaco (to the North) and both were only about 20 minute train  rides.   To get to Nice we did “covoiturage,” or rideshare— pretty much the equivalent of organized hitchhiking.  That was an experience.  Just met some interesting people… It worked out okay, though.  We got there on time, and even though our driver was a bit *different* (quirky? sketchy? a little frightening?) he turned out to be really,  genuinely nice.  The ride ended up being cheaper (and faster!) than  the train would have been so it all worked out for the best!

Nice was lovely.  We explored the old town, the beach,  and took a hike up to a big hill overlooking the city to get some breathtaking views.  We also ate some incredible Italian food (twice at the same place, it was a recommendation from a friend and it was really good!).

Cannes was also really cool.  Since the film festival was going on the atmosphere was really classy and glamorous.  We creeped on the red carpet for the premiere of “You Will  Meet A Tall  Dark Stranger” by Woody Allen (I got to see him! It was from really far away, but still!) and then after they set up a huge projector where you could watch free movies on the beach.  It was a really nice night with an absolutely gorgeous sunset.

We went to Monaco during the day and at night.  At night we dressed up really classy to go to the casino at  Monte Carlo! I just had to go there, the Monte Carlo Casino is the legendary hang out spot of James Bond (parts of Casino Royale were filmed there!) and it did not disappoint.  It’s just a different world in Monaco.  I saw SO many classy cars (bright red Ferrari’s are the car to have in Monaco,  but there were also a ton of Lamborghini’s, Bentley’s, and  my personal favorite— a maroon Aston Martin with a Dubai license plate) dropping people off at the Casino.  The inside was also insanely beautiful, but I couldn’t take any pictures unfortunately (for some reason when there are people dropping thousands of dollars on Black Jack games, the casino’s are kind of picky about people taking pictures, go figure…). We also went to Monaco during the day on Sunday, and totally not even planning it the Formula 1 Grand Prix was going on.  It kind of put a damper on the day, because since the cars race through the city, and views of the race are very expensive (race day tickets started at around 400 euros) they had blocked off a lot of the nice views.  I  begged one of the security guards to let us take some pictures before the race started (In French: “But we are so obviously tourists who don’t care about racing, we’re wearing sun dresses! I just wanted to see this beautiful city and it’s so unfortunate that I can’t!”), and he relented to let us snap  a few photos.  Also, after the race started Sara and I ran up to  the roof of the train  station (why not? when will I ever be in Monaco for the Grand Prix again?) and were able to sneak a view of the race (under an overpass,  from really far away, but still!).  That view was worth a lot of money! Maybe not 400 euros, but 50 at least.

On the way back  from Monaco we stopped at one of the small cities along the coast (the train rides through this area were  absolutely beautiful!), Ville Franche Sur Mer, to lay out on the beach.  It was a really cute town with a really nice beach (not rocky like in Nice) and bay.

Overall it was a really great long weekend.  Cote D’Azur is just incredible.  Perfect weather, beautiful, really classy— a bit too classy  for me  to afford to live there, but really nice for a visit!

Pictures from the weekend: Cote D’Azure

Happy Mother’s Day!

I Love My Mom/Wishing I  Could Be Home For Mother’s Day!

Last week was a course on Customer Loyalty Programs taught by a professor from the University of Cincinnati. Having a course taught by an American professor had special significance to me - it was my last week of classes in English! Starting today I began my second phase of classes entirely in French. It was just an introduction to the class and planning for the rest of the semester, but I am already incredibly excited about this course. The course is called “Social Business” and is an exploration of Social Economy (cooperatives, NGO’s, charities), Socially Responsible Business Practices, and Micro-Finance. During the course, experts from each of these fields will give lectures.  At the end of the course, speakers from different French organizations related to these fields will share information about their companies and business models. I will also get to work with other French students in the class on presentations throughout the course.

I was pretty nervous about starting courses entirely in French, but the first class today went great. After living here over two months, I have really improved my French comprehension more than I was anticipating. I have had great opportunities to practice by talking and listening to the host family I’m staying with and other French students at my school. Also, the subject matter of the course really interests me, so it’s easy to pay attention and understand. I am really excited to learn more about this subject matter and see a French perspective of these issues while improving my language skills at the same time. It should be a great class!

To commemorate my last week of English classes, I took a trip this past weekend to Dublin! I have a friend from home studying there so I visited her for the weekend. I took full advantage of the English fluency and American cultural influences around me by not only seeing some of the great sites the city had to offer but also by buying some novels in English, eating bagels (one of the things I miss the most in France) and buying a pound of Starbucks coffee for my espresso machine in Toulouse! My “last English weekend,” was fun but still not quite the same as home.  Even though the Irish speak English, there were times when I still couldn’t understand what they were saying. I think as long as I am studying here in Europe (which will be until June 14th - it’s crazy to me that my fellow U of A students are working on finals and finishing up classes!), I am going to have to deal with a bit of a language barrier.  

Here are the pictures from Dublin: Pictures!

I do have a feeling I will be busy with classwork this week, but I’ll give an update if I do anything fun.

A toute l’heure!

More Family Vacation

We’ve had a couple of setbacks: the screen on my computer broke (my warranty ends June 14, I come back to the States June 15, oh the irony) and we’re still trying to find a flight home for Mom and Dad (volcanic ash = perpetual Spring Vacation? My class might be cancelled tomorrow if my prof who is flying in from Australia can’t make it).  Besides that, though, we’ve had a really lovely time.

I’m REALLY tired and haven’t uploaded pictures to the internet yet, but here’s a few of what we’ve been doing lately.

Yesterday morning we went to the Dali museum in Figueres.  The museum itself is pretty incredible.  I’m a big Dali fan and he designed the entire museum himself, within his lifetime, and he’s also buried there.  I had almost as much fun exploring the museum and all the different rooms as I did looking at some of his famous artwork displayed there.

In the afternoon we went to Collioure, probably the most picturesque place I have ever been.  A little town framed on one side by the Pyrenees Mountains and the Mediterranean on the other.  Between the two is a little bay with a church and castle on the edge.  I took about 150 pictures that afternoon, it was a bit excessive.  I have a lot of nice panoramics but they don’t show up too well on the tumblr, but will post links later!

Today we went to Casteil, a small French village in the Pyrenees, and hiked an hour up to a thousand year old abbey there called St. Martin Canigou (really, who does that? it was pretty incredible.)  We ate a picnic lunch on an outlook with a gorgeous view of the abbey and the surrounding mountains, then got a tour of the abbey from a monk who lives there (the tour was in French, I attempted to translate).  

Tomorrow afternoon I think we might go to Albi.  The morning will be spent with me on the  phone trying to get this flight worked out.  Wish me luck!