Loire Valley

The weekend began on Friday, another cold rainy day in Paris. Anna Kerri and I went to see a French movie, “Ensemble, c’est tout” with Audrey Toutou (from Amelie/DaVinci Code). It was pretty good, kind of random/predictable but it was all in French with no subtitles and we understood which was exciting. For some reason they wouldn’t take my Visa card there, only American Express which was really opposite and unnerving. Also, once we bought the tickets we had 15 mins until the movie started, and they wouldn’t even let us downstairs to stand outside of the theatre until 5 mins before, very strange. On Friday I also received my backpack that I purchased on eBay France, only 1.5 days after ordering, yay.

We left for the Loire area extremely early in the morning on Saturday. We had a brand new tour bus with the same salty bus driver named Didier. This time both Gabriel and Annamaria came (not Sylvie unfortunately) and they brought their adorable toddler son, Mattheiu. The whole time I couldn’t get over how well-behaved and cute he was, obviously he speaks French and it’s amazing. This bus had areas where there were seats facing inwards around tables, and although it was nice to have a table to put stuff on/do crossword puzzles (of course), I was looking forward to having iPod/sleeping/don’t bother me time which never happened because everyone was talking.

The first chateau we visited upon arrival was Chambord, built in the 16th century, the pamphlet claims 77 staircases, 282 fireplaces, and 426 rooms, wow. The chateau is known for it’s Italian-style double staircase. Parts of it were under construction, but it was interesting and the rooms that were available for viewing were beautiful. We ate lunch at the café that is situated just outside the chateau (this one was out in the wilderness, not in a town area), I got onion soup, it wasn’t that great, Mom’s is better. The next chateau was Blois, this one we had a guided tour for. Our tour guide was an American who has been living in France since 1973 and never goes back to America, I’d love to know his life story. Apparently the Duke de Guise was stabbed to death in his bedroom there. I was secretly hoping to see some dried blood or something, a little proof, but unfortunately there was none.

After the 2nd chateau, we had a “surprise” which ended up being a short tour of a local vignoble (vineyard) with a tasting afterwards. It was a great treat, we were able to sample at least 6 different kinds of wine, complete with appetizers. It’s important to mention that each glass we were given was almost full. In about 10 minute’s time, we all were in extremely good spirits. I won’t go into the details, but it ended up being quite a wild afternoon. I bought 2 bottles, one of a delicious rose that is like juice and a sweet white. Each bottle cost less than a glass of wine in Paris, c’etait formidable!

We retired to our hotel, a lovely Holiday Inn, a million times nicer than the last hotel we had. Went out to dinner, ordered a flammekouche of course, and a great crepe. Some wanted to go to a bar, I didn’t want to, but felt that I had to at least go and be social even though I/everyone else was exhausted (they just weren’t admitting it). Christina called while people were trying to find a bar and we had a great convo, by the end everyone was halfway through a pitcher of beer. We didn’t get in too late which was good because I am sleep deprived from the past week of waking up no later than 7 am every day. Sunday morning I was delighted to find an incredible breakfast spread, hot stuff such as sausage/eggs (I didn’t partake in that part), cereal, yogurt (yum, I’m addicted), pain au chocolate (!!!), baguettes, little jars of jam, the greatest juice I’ve ever had (it was simply labeled as “multivitamin”), and also some random meats and fruit. I raved about how much better this breakfast was than that last one for about 20 minutes. We made ham sandwiches to bring with us for lunch, which worked out perfectly again.

We visited the chateau of Chenonceau, by far my favorite of the three. It’s surrounded by many gardens, water, and forests with paths. This chateau was also constructed in the 16th century, and was home to Henri II, his wife, Catherine de Medicis, and Henri’s mistress, Diane de Poitiers, as well as many other famous royalty throughout the years (not all at once). We gallivanted through the gardens, visited the chateau, and took a walk through the forest. In the forest, I had an intense allergy attack which sucked but I took an allergy pill and moved on. I have great photos to share of this lovely weekend.
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/558474689MgjMGD

Tonight, Louise’s parents are coming for dinner, I'm sure I'll have stories to tell...

Riot gear

Yesterday afternoon there was a riot in the Gare du Nord train/metro station, apparently incited by a youth who didn't have a metro ticket to show when the police came around to check. It escalated into full riot proportions when people (mainly young people) started looting the stores located within the train station and setting the ticket booths on fire. You can see a video of some of the police/rioter interactions here: http://www.lemonde.fr/web/video/0,47-0,54-888738,0.html
That station is very sketchy anyway (I never go there) so don't worry, and it seems peace has been restored since then.

While the riot was going on, I was enjoying a beautiful afternoon on the Champ de Mars (garden/grassy knoll near the Eiffel Tower). Anna, Dane and I sat in the grass (of course I had to put a plastic bag down so my pants didn't get dirty) and listened to music (iPod attached to speaker). It was lovely and I took photos. After that, we decided to go for a run, the first real cardio I've done in about 2 months. It wasn't too bad and it felt good to get moving faster than a power walk for once. Unfortunately, it seems I forgot to pack my favorite purple running shorts.

Today I purchased a large traveling backpack (I don't know what the real term is) off of ebay.fr (French ebay). It only cost about $42 including shipping and will be much easier to use than a wheel-y suitcase for my spring break adventure.

Does not work well with others

This weekend was very rainy, therefore the only thing to do was go to a museum. On Friday, I grudgingly went to the Louvre, and walked around for about an hour or 2. It is always crowded, and too big. I went out to dinner with Anna and her brother, Andrew, who lives in Queens and is an actor. We went to the Indiana Cafe again, where I got chili con carne, it was a warm bowl of delight. I always was afraid to get things that were called "carne" because I thought it meant pork or some other strange meat, but apparently it just means meat. Good. We shared a bottle of Bordeaux and it was lovely.

Saturday morning I met up with some friends and went to the Musee d'Orsay, which I was worried about since it was a rainy Saturday and everyone and their mother would be there. Luckily, it wasn't unbearable, and I actually liked it a lot better than the Louvre, especially the impressionist paintings. The Louvre is more statues and random ancient artifacts. I saw Monet, Rodin, Picasso, Degas, Manet, Cezanne, among others. After about 2 hours I was ready to go, I always get very tired/back ache/hungry when I'm in a museum for too long. We went to St. Michel and got gyros, which were amazing as usual.

Saturday night we found a great little bar with a cave-like basement (not good for claustrophobia), that plays latin music and has reasonably-priced drinks (6 shots for 15 euro, obviously split among a group). I enjoyed dancing with friends.

Sunday I met up with friends again and had lunch on rue Mouffetard (actually the same area that the bar was), tried a crepe salee (salty as opposed to sugary) with ham and cheese, it was so big I took like 3 bites and couldn't go on. Then, we walked around past the Pantheon and through Luxembourg gardens. In the gardens, there is a big fountain where French children bring sailboats and push them around with a stick, or if they're lucky they have a remote control boat. It was nice to see and marvel about how American children are sitting at home right now playing video games and getting fat. Is that a lot to say?

Louise had Anna's brother over for dinner, and much like the time Mom came, it was a looong night. She made beef bourgengon (didn't spell that right) and it wasn't bad, there is actually a little dark chocolate in the sauce. Also, a great melange of peppers and onions, grilled and covered with balsamic vinegarette for an appetizer (called an entree here, the opposite of the US). It was funny to hear Louise speak English, she sounds so vulnerable and I loved it because she was on the other side, not "in the know." Most of the time, she would speak French to Anna and I and then we would translate to Andrew. She revealed that she is 44, interesting because she looks about 30. I tried a cheese that I didn't hate, of course I forget the name. We drank a lot of wine and by the end of the night, I was exhausted and drifted into a peaceful slumber.

Today I figured out my classes for next semester, and calmed down about my whole scheduling disaster. I am going to drop my history major definitely for a history minor, and everything should work out. I just need the final OK from my advisor and then I can stop worrying. I am going to take 6 courses in the fall (a lot, considering they're almost all upper level), so I have time to possibly write an honors thesis in the spring to graduate with Distinct Honors (ha).

In my history class today, I had an interesting experience with a Japanese girl. From my experience, the Japanese (notably the girls) are very shy and reserved and like to pretend that they're invisible. Of course we had to "work with a partner" and write a resume (summary) of the Hundred Years' War, and she was sitting next to me so we paired up. I basically told her everything to write, and she contributed nothing but grammatical errors. She didn't have any ideas and whispered apologies when I corrected her writing (since we are both getting graded for the same summary). I wanted to strangle her, my blood pressure was elevated. I just don't understand why she feels she can't just be a person in this world. Why scurry around, doing anything possible to not be noticed (like the Japanese girls that lived in my international dorm at Towson)? It's really ridiculous, I'm sorry. That's all for now.

Russian eyes

Oh la la...les allergies have begun. Yesterday I awoke with a scratchy throat and sneezing, and during my second class of the day, I had a full-on sneeze/nose-blowing attack. Luckily, I always keep key items in my purse such as allergy medicine. Unfortunately, it makes me really tired and I basically passed out right after dinner. Mom is sending me Zyrtec-D (the D is crucial, decongestant) which I hope to receive soon (hint).

I enjoyed our visit to the Tour Eiffel the other day although it was bitingly cold and windy, especially at the very top of the tower. I felt lucky to be up there as the sun was setting, and it's much less scary to be up that high in the daylight for some reason. I will post some pics of that. Since people come from all over the world to Paris/the Eiffel Tower, there are some real characters in there, such as an Italian man who caught a pigeon (who touches pigeons?) and proceeded to shove it in his daughter's face. Then, while waiting in line I spotted an Asian woman wearing one of those masks that the dentists wear when they clean your teeth. Weird.

Classes this week weren't too bad, but I'm starting to get really antsy, like I can't sit still for the last hour of the class. My French writing professor wasn't there yesterday (she's very intense and has a sing-song-y voice and makes fun of people if they don't know the answer to her question) which was nice, we had a very interesting substitute man. I forgot about substitute teachers, and didn't realize that it was strange because we don't have them in college. During that class, I had to sit next to one of the nuns. She smelled like death, although she is probably only 30-40 years old. She has a horrible lisp and was very invasive and took it upon herself to "correct" my papers when we were told to compare answers with our "neighbors." I'll tell you what, I don't know what it is about the French and working with your "neighbor" but I hate it, I always would rather work alone and I don't think it's neccessary to work with a partner on a stupid grammar excercise. Maybe that's why my French professors at Towson always make us work in partners, because that's how the French do things. Bah.

Last night after I got home from class, since Anna's brother is in town for a few days, Louise and I ate dinner just the two of us. I thought it would be awkward but it wasn't, and she made a great meal of salad (endives and corn, usually don't like endives, but the corn really lightened the mood of the salad), baguette, pork, and greatly spiced/cooked vegetables (I think it was potatoes and some sort of squash) with a delicious sweetish sauce, all topped off with delish red wine. Yum and perfect for another freezing day. I then passed out (even though I was supposed to meet up with people to go to the bar, typical Sara).

This morning I awoke at a reasonable hour, Anna was already gone, but Louise was awake, so we ate breakfast together. I really didn't feel like speaking French this morning through my extremely congested nose, but whatever. It's just kind of a lot to have to speak in a foreign tongue first thing in the morning. I had my usual tartine (baguette, butter/jam) and a yogurt (the yogurt here is out of control amazing), and Louise, oddly enough (but I'm not surprised) put some oatmeal (at least it looked like oatmeal, dry oats) in a bowl then proceeded to drown it in milk...no heating, no congealing...just floating oats...Anyway, we had a conversation about my allergies, and then she told me that I have Russian eyes which are mysterious...

rainy day thoughts

Last night I saw an amazing film, La vie des autres, (The Lives of Others) which was in German with French subtitles. I'm proud to say that I understood almost everything even though my eyes were tired by the end. The movie is set in the 1980's in East Germany and told the story of a couple being spied on by a man who begins to sympathize with them, communism, etc. It really was great, and only 3.50 euro because of a special spring cinema thing that was going on until yesterday. The movie won the Oscar for best foreign language film this year by the way.

I'd like to take a moment and talk about my language professor, Pierre (of course his name is Pierre). He is quite a character, he wears the same thing EVERY class: a grey worn out pullover and beige corduroy pants. He looks like a little French schoolboy and I bet when he was young (he grew up in Paris) he carried his books in one of those leather straps like Pinnocchio. He loves to engage us in discussion about anything at all a) because he probably doesn't ever have anyone else to talk to and b) it gives us practice speaking French of course. I think he knows English fairly well, as he is a fan of American movies/literature, and he'll randomly throw out an English phrase but in an intense French accent, such as my favorite, "what ze hell are yhou talkhing about?" I love it and want to record it.

I found a great new supermarket where I often buy my lunch, called Champion. It has the same prepackaged sandwiches as my other favorite, Monoprix, but it's much cheaper. For instance, today I purchased a chicken sandwich, a pack of almonds, a Coca Cola Light (with which I'm in love, it tastes much better than in the States), and a mini chocolate mousse/yogurt thing all for 5 euro. Usually at a sandwich stand/shop it's 5 euro for the sandwich alone! The other day at Champion I got a sandwich, the same chocolate mousse thing, and a bottle of water for less than 3 euro. They have some great-looking pasta salads and regular salads that I can't wait to try. The only bad thing is that the only Champion I know of is near the ISA office, which is about 20 minutes on the metro from my apartment.

Tonight we have a rendez-vous with the ISA personnel at the Tour Eiffel at 5:30 pm to go up to the top (for free, as opposed to not free like usual), although it's semi-rainy and I hope that it's not too foggy to see like the last time I was up there. Also I secretly get really scared going up since it really is very high but I must go. My current focus is getting a plane ticket for Josh to come here the last week of April. It's stressful because the prices keep changing, etc. but I have been able to find several affordable hotels in Paris which is good for my ever-high blood pressure level. I can't wait until April because once spring break comes, I don't have much more planning-type things to worry about, and then after that Mom and Sam will visit in May. I also plan to visit dear friend Beth in Vienna sometime in the month of May which I am tres excited about. Oh, and I downloaded the movie Borat today.

I'm still here

I haven't posted anything in a week, mainly because I don't have much news to report. I've gotten into a routine of classes and also planning our spring break extravaganza in Italy and Greece. We've decided to forego the south of France in order to spend more time in Italy and eliminate a plane/train ride. At the moment, the plan is to fly to Rome on April 6, take a train to Naples where we will be staying for 5 days (during which we will visit Pompeii, Sorrento, and the beaches!), then back to Rome to meet up with some more people for a few days. Then, we fly to Athens, spend a day or 2 there, then roll over to a few islands. I'm excited but also nervous (if you know me, you know being away from a "home base" for 2 weeks, staying in hostels, is quite a task). I realized that I didn't bring many spring/vacation clothing, so I'm having some sent to me from home. It's weird not being able to just run home and get stuff. Another reason I haven't posted anything is because I've been very stressed about planning my courses for the fall at Towson (I have to register in a few weeks), and of course the day that I have to register I will be away in Italy without internet access. Also, this semester is basically setting me back academically which is not good when I have to graduate next spring. I'll spare you of all the details.

I've also come to the point in my stay in Paris where the inconveniences are becoming more and more apparent (for example, not being able to find contact solution, and when I do, it costs 12 euro). In the manual that the Towson study abroad dept. hands out, it goes through the cycle of culture shock, beginning with the honeymoon period where everything is great, you have a lot of energy and love exploring, then you start to compare your native culture to your host culture and realize the inconveniences. Then, apparently you realize that you have assimilated yourself into your host culture and don't want to go back to your native culture. It seems I'm in the middle right now, although I am still enjoying my time here nonetheless. I'm excited for our 2-day excursion to the Loire Valley next weekend, and we had a nice 1-day excursion to Chartres this past Saturday. Chartres was only an hour bus ride from Paris, and it was only about 13 of us who went, as opposed to everyone from both programs. We had a great lunch with one of the directors, Annamaria, and ISA employee Sylvie. Anna and I were delighted to find the Alsacean specialty, flammekouche on the menu! It was about 10 inches in diameter and of course we each finished the whole thing. The cathedral was very pretty, but freezing, and our tour guide (who was a mix of Indian and French) was really great at explaining the meanings behind the stained glass windows and statue-type things. Also, an ancient piece of cloth that is believed to be the veil of Mary is displayed there. After the tour, we mounted the 300 stairs that led to the top of the cathedral. One of the girl in our program had a panic attack and had to go back down, but I loved it, what a great view of the town. I wasn't even tired after walking up the stairs (although after coming down my one leg muscle was spasming), thanks to the 7 flights I choose to walk up to my apartment most days instead of taking the elevator.

I must mention that on Friday afternoon, we finally found a Mexican-ish restaurant and I had amazing enchiladas. They were vegetarian but they didn't really have many beans inside, it was more of a melange of vegetables such as carrots and zucchini. Quite good. For the next couple days in Paris, movie tickets only cost 3.50 euro so I will probably partake tomorrow afternoon after class. I'd love to see a great French film, although I'm not sure if I'll understand it all. Apparently there is a good one out about Edith Piaf that my professor recommends. I have a history exam this afternoon on the Middle Age in France, but I have no idea what's going to be on it. There is no review, list of terms to know, or anything like that like in the US, just anything that is on any handouts or that's been written on the board is fair game. It should be interesting....

New pictures: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/558245811qPGbpy

In case you can't find them...

here's the link to my pics yo http://community.webshots.com/user/sussular_device