Here are some Estonia photos! Today was super rainy, so we just are hanging with the baby and had sushi for lunch... hope you like the pics!!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=182537&id=544216318&l=f334eb8590
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Monday June 7 to Thurs. June 10
On Monday, I woke up at 6am and met my friend Molly early in the morning to go with her to work. Molly teaches English at an elementary school in Paris. I went to two classes with her and helped her teach a 2nd and 3rd grade class about numbers. In the first class, the teacher was absent so they were very roudy and difficult to work with. The second class was really great and more cooperative. At the end they sang me songs like "if youre happy and you know it" and "Jingle bells" it was really adorable! I wanted to go because I am interested in doing that too, but I have no teaching experience and often you need teaching experience to do these things.
One really interesting thing about elementary schools is that all the children get picked up by their moms to go to lunch at home.
Then I went to the airport and flew to Helsinki. I arrived at Helsinki and there was a ship i needed to take at 9:30 to Talliin, Estonia. I had to take a bus to the city center and then power walk to the ferry. I didnt get to take any pictures of Helsinki, but from what I saw, it was really beautiful.
The ferry was also really nice. It wasnt really a ferry at all, but really a cruise ship. There were restaurants and bars and gambling, but everything was pretty expensive, so I had a small meal and just watched tv. When we left the port, it was also very beautiful and the sun was still out. In fact, the sun doesnt set here until 10:30 and when I got off the ship at midnight, there was still bright red on the horizon.
Tuesday I just hung out with Triin and her beautiful 8 month old baby girl Stiina. We woke up at about 9am and then had breakfast and got dress and around 11:30 Stiina was ready for her nap which meant we had to go for a walk with her in the stroller. Near where Triin lives, maybe about a 7min walk away, there is a beach! There is a paved walkway that follows the shore from about 50 feet away. The path can go for many many miles along the shore. Unfortunately, its been too cold to go swimming and its definitely not as nice as Tobay!
On the way back, we went to the supermarket, which is just like the supermarkets in the US, I didnt really notice any difference.
Then we came back for lunch. In Estonia, normally people have sandwiches for breakfast, a big meal for lunch, and then salad for dinner.
When Stiina was ready for her next nap we went on a walk to a park that is near by. Triins neighborhood is nice, just a 15 min bus ride to the center of Tallinn or a 7 min car ride. She lives in a one bedroom appartment with her husband Timo and her dog Tommy. My favorite part about their appartment is that they have a small balcony with 2 chairs on it that over looks a forest. It is very picturesque.
When Timo came home from work, Triin and I went in the car to go to see Tallinn. Tallinn is a really cool city that has the "old town" in the center which is basically the original medieval town. Its actually really amazing and beautiful, but it is very touristy. Outside of the old town is "city center" which is much more modern and not as beautiful. Triin and I wandered the streets just so I could see what it looks like and get a feel of it. There is a cool square in the center of it and right now there is a stage because they are having a festival called "old town days" lucky me! They have all kinds of performances and special things going on around the city. Good timing!
After wandering around for a while, Triin and I became hungry again so we ate at Hesburger. Hesburger is this really great fast food place. They have amazing burgers, better than McDonalds I would say. Then we just went home and had a nice quiet evening.
The next day, Triins husband Timo stayed home with Stiina so that Triin could take me to see more of the site in the Old Town. Like I said, this week is the week of Old Town Days, so this day was Museum day (other days are Classical music day, Jazz Day, etc). This meant that a lot of museums were free. Triin took me through the town, starting by walking up a steep hill to a really great look out point over the city. Then we walked through the back part of this city to pass a Russian church. We also saw some people dressed up as medieval archers trying to advertise archery games to tourists. There was a courtyard called the Danish Kings Garden, which is supposedly where the Danish flag was invented. Old Town has a lot of old cobble streets that are narrow and winding and it is easy to get lost there, though it is small so you dont have too much to worry about. We also saw Kiek in de Kok (say it out loud). It is this old tower that also has a great look out and was free because it was the museum day. Apparently there are underground passages beneath the city that have just recently been opened up and you can access them through this museum, but this wasnt free so we didnt do it. Eventually, Triin had to go home because Timo had to stop in his office for some work. So I stayed in the Old Town to look around and enjoy some alone time. I went into the Tallinn museum, again free. They were giving tours in Estonian on their treasury, so I signed up for one and then walked around the museum. They actually had a quite nice museum, which lots of old relics and the history of Tallinn, and a cool area with different old maps of Tallinn and a 3d interactive light up map where you press a button and it lights up on the map. The treasury was kind of boring, just a lot of old stuff they didnt know what to do with, but to me it was kind of neat, since ive always wonder what one would look like. They had a lot of old pots and ceramics and tiles. In the back room there were the remains of a very old well, and some rocks from the foundations of old buildings that were uncovered.
After I walked to the Nigulist Museum which is in a 13th century church. I really wanted to go here because there is a Danse Macabre painting by Bernt Notke that I had studied in my Black Death class.
I then needed to kill some time before Triin was going to come back, so I went into a temporary exhibit on Medieval torture. It was so awesome, with real (copies i guess) devices you can see as well as copies of images (usually woodcuts) and great descriptions. Some things I saw were the rack, a chastity belt, and masks that people wore as a form of shame punishment. I definitly think this was one of the coolest museums Ive ever seen.
After, I had to wait for Triin to come back, so I sat in the square and people watched.
When Triin was able to get back, we went to St. Olafs church which is the highest point in Tallinn. We went to the top, and it was really crazy because you have to walk up these narrow winding stairs very very high up and then you get to the top and its super narrow, the width of 3 wooden planks (i know, bc that is what the ground actually was). The view was spectacular though. The city is on the Baltic Sea, so you can see the water from these high points. Tallinn is also a popular cruise destination, so there are often 3 or 4 large cruise ships in the harbor.
We then went down, there is an actual church but its pretty lame with white walls and no decorations. We sped over to the Estonian Maritime Museum, which was also free. There were a lot of old people in the museum, I think there must have been a show about to go on or something. So Triin and I beat our way through the crowd up the stairs to the top of another spectacular view on top of what is called Fat Margarets cannon tower. This view was much closer to the water than St. Olafs, but it was much lower. Then we sped down the stairs because we needed to be home before Stiina needed dinner. We stopped for our own dinner on the way back at an Italian restaurant that had really great pizzas, salada, and pastas. At this restaurant, you get a card and you order at different areas. They make the food right in front of you. Triin and I both had different types of raviolis that were superbe. Then they wave your card in front of the resgister and when youre ready to leave you go to the front desk and pay there and everything you ordered comes up on the card. I thought that was pretty cool and modern. Food is also very cheap here compared to Paris and Denmark. It was about 10 euro for one of our dinners at this place, and Triin said that was on the expensive side.
Today Triin had to stay home with Stiina, so I took a 15 min bus into the city by myself. It was really nice to have this day to myself, since it was such a beautiful day out and the Old Town is so charming to me. I ran to catch up to a free 2 hour tour that goes through the city. By the time I got there I was an hour late, but it was ok bc it was sooooo boring. The tourguide was a young girl, and it was in English, but her jokes were so bad. So I started talking to this girl from San Diego who went to Harvard (gasp!) and is now living in Berlin or something. We decided to ditch the tour, which had now gone past 2 hours long, and have some lunch. After searching for a good but reasonably priced place, we found a little bakery where I had some pastry with ham and cheese in it, a yogurt, and water. The whole thing came out to the equivalent of 3 euros!!! AMAZING!
After having lunch with the girl, I realized I wasnt really in the mood to make friends and wanted to be on my own again. We went to the oldest pharmacy in Tallinn together, which I thought would just be a modern pharmacy but just in the place of where the old one had been for centuries. Negative. It was so cool! It was a regular pharmacy, but it also had old jars and siringes, herbs, and cool remedies such as mummy parts and dried dog poop. Then I told the girl I was shipping off and just started to wander the streets. I really love this part of the city, and to be honest, I dont have too much interest in seeing the more modern part of the city. So I walked around. I hung out in Freedom Square, catching some rays and writing some postcards. Then I wandered behind the square to see the opera house, which really wasnt anything too special. So I stopped and had an ice cream and went back to Freedom Square to enjoy it. Then I went back through the city to look at the streets again. There is a tourist booth meant for young people subsidised by the state or something so I talked with a guy my age about different bars and travelling and stuff which was nice to finally talk to another person. Then I walked to the Cathedral of Saint Mary the Virgin which has all the coats of arms of Tallinns old nobility which was really cool!
I also saw a group of people who do reinactments of Medieval times all day long! They were just hanging out in old looking clothes with a fire and a tee pee and sewing or chatting.
There is also a park that makes a cresent around the east side of the city that is very beautiful so I walked around there for a long while, then wandered back to the bus station and went to go home.
When I got back, Triin was walking the baby and the dog with her younger sister who is 17. When we got back, Timo was home so we played with the baby until dinner was ready. For dinner Triin made this amazing meal with carrots, potatoes, broccoli, califlower, and chicken with coconut oil. It was actually really amazing and I ate all the veggies!!!
After dinner and chores, Triin and I went to Pirita beach. Here there is a huge outdoor concert hall that looks like it would be so awesome for festivals. It has a really nice park around it that we walked in.
After we drove to the boardwalk that is along the beach. The sun was setting so it was really beautiful! We had the dog too so that fun too.
Im trying to upload pictures from Estonia, but facebook is being a pain, so it may take a while...
Also, if youre reading this, leave comments every now and then, because thats how I know people are actually reading this and Im not just writing to myself! haha
One really interesting thing about elementary schools is that all the children get picked up by their moms to go to lunch at home.
Then I went to the airport and flew to Helsinki. I arrived at Helsinki and there was a ship i needed to take at 9:30 to Talliin, Estonia. I had to take a bus to the city center and then power walk to the ferry. I didnt get to take any pictures of Helsinki, but from what I saw, it was really beautiful.
The ferry was also really nice. It wasnt really a ferry at all, but really a cruise ship. There were restaurants and bars and gambling, but everything was pretty expensive, so I had a small meal and just watched tv. When we left the port, it was also very beautiful and the sun was still out. In fact, the sun doesnt set here until 10:30 and when I got off the ship at midnight, there was still bright red on the horizon.
Tuesday I just hung out with Triin and her beautiful 8 month old baby girl Stiina. We woke up at about 9am and then had breakfast and got dress and around 11:30 Stiina was ready for her nap which meant we had to go for a walk with her in the stroller. Near where Triin lives, maybe about a 7min walk away, there is a beach! There is a paved walkway that follows the shore from about 50 feet away. The path can go for many many miles along the shore. Unfortunately, its been too cold to go swimming and its definitely not as nice as Tobay!
On the way back, we went to the supermarket, which is just like the supermarkets in the US, I didnt really notice any difference.
Then we came back for lunch. In Estonia, normally people have sandwiches for breakfast, a big meal for lunch, and then salad for dinner.
When Stiina was ready for her next nap we went on a walk to a park that is near by. Triins neighborhood is nice, just a 15 min bus ride to the center of Tallinn or a 7 min car ride. She lives in a one bedroom appartment with her husband Timo and her dog Tommy. My favorite part about their appartment is that they have a small balcony with 2 chairs on it that over looks a forest. It is very picturesque.
When Timo came home from work, Triin and I went in the car to go to see Tallinn. Tallinn is a really cool city that has the "old town" in the center which is basically the original medieval town. Its actually really amazing and beautiful, but it is very touristy. Outside of the old town is "city center" which is much more modern and not as beautiful. Triin and I wandered the streets just so I could see what it looks like and get a feel of it. There is a cool square in the center of it and right now there is a stage because they are having a festival called "old town days" lucky me! They have all kinds of performances and special things going on around the city. Good timing!
After wandering around for a while, Triin and I became hungry again so we ate at Hesburger. Hesburger is this really great fast food place. They have amazing burgers, better than McDonalds I would say. Then we just went home and had a nice quiet evening.
The next day, Triins husband Timo stayed home with Stiina so that Triin could take me to see more of the site in the Old Town. Like I said, this week is the week of Old Town Days, so this day was Museum day (other days are Classical music day, Jazz Day, etc). This meant that a lot of museums were free. Triin took me through the town, starting by walking up a steep hill to a really great look out point over the city. Then we walked through the back part of this city to pass a Russian church. We also saw some people dressed up as medieval archers trying to advertise archery games to tourists. There was a courtyard called the Danish Kings Garden, which is supposedly where the Danish flag was invented. Old Town has a lot of old cobble streets that are narrow and winding and it is easy to get lost there, though it is small so you dont have too much to worry about. We also saw Kiek in de Kok (say it out loud). It is this old tower that also has a great look out and was free because it was the museum day. Apparently there are underground passages beneath the city that have just recently been opened up and you can access them through this museum, but this wasnt free so we didnt do it. Eventually, Triin had to go home because Timo had to stop in his office for some work. So I stayed in the Old Town to look around and enjoy some alone time. I went into the Tallinn museum, again free. They were giving tours in Estonian on their treasury, so I signed up for one and then walked around the museum. They actually had a quite nice museum, which lots of old relics and the history of Tallinn, and a cool area with different old maps of Tallinn and a 3d interactive light up map where you press a button and it lights up on the map. The treasury was kind of boring, just a lot of old stuff they didnt know what to do with, but to me it was kind of neat, since ive always wonder what one would look like. They had a lot of old pots and ceramics and tiles. In the back room there were the remains of a very old well, and some rocks from the foundations of old buildings that were uncovered.
After I walked to the Nigulist Museum which is in a 13th century church. I really wanted to go here because there is a Danse Macabre painting by Bernt Notke that I had studied in my Black Death class.
I then needed to kill some time before Triin was going to come back, so I went into a temporary exhibit on Medieval torture. It was so awesome, with real (copies i guess) devices you can see as well as copies of images (usually woodcuts) and great descriptions. Some things I saw were the rack, a chastity belt, and masks that people wore as a form of shame punishment. I definitly think this was one of the coolest museums Ive ever seen.
After, I had to wait for Triin to come back, so I sat in the square and people watched.
When Triin was able to get back, we went to St. Olafs church which is the highest point in Tallinn. We went to the top, and it was really crazy because you have to walk up these narrow winding stairs very very high up and then you get to the top and its super narrow, the width of 3 wooden planks (i know, bc that is what the ground actually was). The view was spectacular though. The city is on the Baltic Sea, so you can see the water from these high points. Tallinn is also a popular cruise destination, so there are often 3 or 4 large cruise ships in the harbor.
We then went down, there is an actual church but its pretty lame with white walls and no decorations. We sped over to the Estonian Maritime Museum, which was also free. There were a lot of old people in the museum, I think there must have been a show about to go on or something. So Triin and I beat our way through the crowd up the stairs to the top of another spectacular view on top of what is called Fat Margarets cannon tower. This view was much closer to the water than St. Olafs, but it was much lower. Then we sped down the stairs because we needed to be home before Stiina needed dinner. We stopped for our own dinner on the way back at an Italian restaurant that had really great pizzas, salada, and pastas. At this restaurant, you get a card and you order at different areas. They make the food right in front of you. Triin and I both had different types of raviolis that were superbe. Then they wave your card in front of the resgister and when youre ready to leave you go to the front desk and pay there and everything you ordered comes up on the card. I thought that was pretty cool and modern. Food is also very cheap here compared to Paris and Denmark. It was about 10 euro for one of our dinners at this place, and Triin said that was on the expensive side.
Today Triin had to stay home with Stiina, so I took a 15 min bus into the city by myself. It was really nice to have this day to myself, since it was such a beautiful day out and the Old Town is so charming to me. I ran to catch up to a free 2 hour tour that goes through the city. By the time I got there I was an hour late, but it was ok bc it was sooooo boring. The tourguide was a young girl, and it was in English, but her jokes were so bad. So I started talking to this girl from San Diego who went to Harvard (gasp!) and is now living in Berlin or something. We decided to ditch the tour, which had now gone past 2 hours long, and have some lunch. After searching for a good but reasonably priced place, we found a little bakery where I had some pastry with ham and cheese in it, a yogurt, and water. The whole thing came out to the equivalent of 3 euros!!! AMAZING!
After having lunch with the girl, I realized I wasnt really in the mood to make friends and wanted to be on my own again. We went to the oldest pharmacy in Tallinn together, which I thought would just be a modern pharmacy but just in the place of where the old one had been for centuries. Negative. It was so cool! It was a regular pharmacy, but it also had old jars and siringes, herbs, and cool remedies such as mummy parts and dried dog poop. Then I told the girl I was shipping off and just started to wander the streets. I really love this part of the city, and to be honest, I dont have too much interest in seeing the more modern part of the city. So I walked around. I hung out in Freedom Square, catching some rays and writing some postcards. Then I wandered behind the square to see the opera house, which really wasnt anything too special. So I stopped and had an ice cream and went back to Freedom Square to enjoy it. Then I went back through the city to look at the streets again. There is a tourist booth meant for young people subsidised by the state or something so I talked with a guy my age about different bars and travelling and stuff which was nice to finally talk to another person. Then I walked to the Cathedral of Saint Mary the Virgin which has all the coats of arms of Tallinns old nobility which was really cool!
I also saw a group of people who do reinactments of Medieval times all day long! They were just hanging out in old looking clothes with a fire and a tee pee and sewing or chatting.
There is also a park that makes a cresent around the east side of the city that is very beautiful so I walked around there for a long while, then wandered back to the bus station and went to go home.
When I got back, Triin was walking the baby and the dog with her younger sister who is 17. When we got back, Timo was home so we played with the baby until dinner was ready. For dinner Triin made this amazing meal with carrots, potatoes, broccoli, califlower, and chicken with coconut oil. It was actually really amazing and I ate all the veggies!!!
After dinner and chores, Triin and I went to Pirita beach. Here there is a huge outdoor concert hall that looks like it would be so awesome for festivals. It has a really nice park around it that we walked in.
After we drove to the boardwalk that is along the beach. The sun was setting so it was really beautiful! We had the dog too so that fun too.
Im trying to upload pictures from Estonia, but facebook is being a pain, so it may take a while...
Also, if youre reading this, leave comments every now and then, because thats how I know people are actually reading this and Im not just writing to myself! haha
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
More Pictures!
Here are more photos at the following link!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=182977&id=544216318&l=28d466d2cf
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=182977&id=544216318&l=28d466d2cf
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Thurs June 3 to Sunday June 6
Thursday I had a late start and went to the Bois de bologne. It is an enormous park in the east of Paris. I started at the bottom of it and walked up past this enormous lake that was picturesque with lots of trees and couples in row boats. Then I went on a long walk to find a garden in the park bagatelle which was amazing. I got lost on the way so it took about an hour walking through the woods and streets to get there (i told you this park was big). In the park bagatelle, which was big in its own right, there were peacocks and waterfalls and a rose garden and iris garden. I must have spent 2 or 3 hours there. Then I went to jardin du pre catalin which had one of the biggest trees in paris. there is also a small garden in the park that has different plants that can be seen in shakeaspere's plays, but there are only 2 hours per day that you can go in, so i missed it. In total I spent about 5 or 6 hours in the park and I was exhausted. After I left the park, I passed the Rolland Garros, which is the French tennis open. It was a relief when my friend Noelle called and invited me for a soda right near where I was.
Friday I spent most of the morning trying to move my stuff from Noelle's appartment to Javier's dorm room. When I finally got there, it was a gorgeous day and I wanted to get outside, so I met my friend Jacky from Binghamton and his friend Laura at Trocadero, right in front of the Eiffel Tower, to hang out and picnic. Laura has a cute dog too that we got to play with! After I met with Javier and one of his friends and we had burritos. I was supposed to meet people from work, but they ended up not getting together so I met my old friend Anna and 2 of her british friend for some drinks. Before I knew it it was already 9pm! I went to Noelle's to get ready and meet her new roommate Dave who's British. Then we met my friend Angela at the Seine since it was her last night in Paris before she went travelling around Europe with her sister.
Saturday it was crazy hot out. So me and Javier met up with Jacky and Laura and 2 of their friends for another picnic, this time in Park Monceau. This park was closer to the Arc du triomphe and had nice flowers and waterfalls. There were tons of people there trying to take advantage of the beautiful day. We just hung out in our bathingsuits and sunbathed for most of the day. By the end of the day I was so tired I didnt want to go out, so I went to Noelle's around 8pm to take a nap and then when I woke up she had pasta ready for me (best friend ever haha!)
Today I went to an exotic bird market that had zillions of birds as well as some small pets like kittens and bunnies. then I met Laura at her appt. and dropped off my backpack since I cant take it with me to Estonia and vienna. We watched the last match of the Rolland Garros to watch Nadal win. then I went to Noelle's since her friends boyfriend is a chef and he wanted to cook dinner for us. We had chicken and duck curry with rice. It was sooooooo good and we had so much fun.
I'm trying to upload more photos now, but it's taking a long time so I dont think it will work, so I'll let you know soon!
Friday I spent most of the morning trying to move my stuff from Noelle's appartment to Javier's dorm room. When I finally got there, it was a gorgeous day and I wanted to get outside, so I met my friend Jacky from Binghamton and his friend Laura at Trocadero, right in front of the Eiffel Tower, to hang out and picnic. Laura has a cute dog too that we got to play with! After I met with Javier and one of his friends and we had burritos. I was supposed to meet people from work, but they ended up not getting together so I met my old friend Anna and 2 of her british friend for some drinks. Before I knew it it was already 9pm! I went to Noelle's to get ready and meet her new roommate Dave who's British. Then we met my friend Angela at the Seine since it was her last night in Paris before she went travelling around Europe with her sister.
Saturday it was crazy hot out. So me and Javier met up with Jacky and Laura and 2 of their friends for another picnic, this time in Park Monceau. This park was closer to the Arc du triomphe and had nice flowers and waterfalls. There were tons of people there trying to take advantage of the beautiful day. We just hung out in our bathingsuits and sunbathed for most of the day. By the end of the day I was so tired I didnt want to go out, so I went to Noelle's around 8pm to take a nap and then when I woke up she had pasta ready for me (best friend ever haha!)
Today I went to an exotic bird market that had zillions of birds as well as some small pets like kittens and bunnies. then I met Laura at her appt. and dropped off my backpack since I cant take it with me to Estonia and vienna. We watched the last match of the Rolland Garros to watch Nadal win. then I went to Noelle's since her friends boyfriend is a chef and he wanted to cook dinner for us. We had chicken and duck curry with rice. It was sooooooo good and we had so much fun.
I'm trying to upload more photos now, but it's taking a long time so I dont think it will work, so I'll let you know soon!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Sun May 29 to Wed June 2
On Sunday we went to get Wills bag at CDG airport. We got his bag!!!!!
After, we went down the block from Mickeals house to the Sunday markets and got his mom flowers because it was mothers day in france! We then ate lunch with Mickael and his mom and relaxed.
Later, we had dinner with our friend Alana for all-you-can-eat mussels at a restaurant called Leon. I'm not going to lie, I had 3 buckets of mussels that were in this amazing tomato-based sauce. Definitely the best. My mom would have gone crazy for them.
After, we went to a bar called the Mad Maker that has a cool pirate theme. The tables are barrels and the ceiling has old sails on it and there are cool candle-like lights with chandeliers.
On Monday, Will and I went to Monmartre, a beautiful quater in Paris that is on top of a hill with a beautiful byzantine church that over looks the whole city. We Started off at Pigalle, the "sex district," and walked over to the Moulin Rouge. From there we began walking up the non-traditional way to the top, walking through the winding streets. We made it to the cute little square perched on top by the church that hosts painters and bistros, just as you would imagine Paris to be. At the other corner of the square, in front of an old church there were some performers doing kapoera. We went into the church, but there was actually a funeral going on- very awkward. Then we made it over to the Sacre Coeur, one of the most famous churches in Paris. It is incredibly massive inside and outside there was a fantastic view of Paris. Despite the bad weather, there were still lots of people there, though not as many as on a normal tourist day there. Then we walked behind the Sacre Coeur and down the back way of the hill to wander the streets. We saw the only vineyard in Paris, the only 2 remaining "moulins" or windmills, Picasso's studio and some famous painters house- haha i forget who!
We then went to the cemetary near by to sit down and relax because we were getting very tired. After resting we went back to Luxembourg to hang out with Alana and Noelle- it was alanas last night! So we went to an old hot spot that we used to go to every monday night when I was here last semester: the Great Canadian! Its a fun bar that has "wing night" on monday night- however, despite the name, the wings are not cheap. We had a fun time and went to an American bar near rue Moufftard afterwards to play American drinking games like flip cup and beer pong since you don't play those here and we thought it would be hilarious to go and play. It was definitely a great last night for Alana.
The next day we had to move out of Mickaels to go to Noelle's since now there is an extra room there now that alana's left. We spent a lot of time moseying around and then when we got to the appartment we spent most of the day cleaning. We did go with my friend Mirielle, who's also crashing at Noelle's, to the Marais- a really popular district to walk around and that is known for is Jewish and gay communities. We stopped in Eglise St. Paul, a really old beautiful church, to rest our feet- by this point in the week Will and I are exhausted. We went back to the appartment soon after to nap.
It was Mirielle's birthday, so we went out to sushi, which was actually very good and very cheap. I was really surprised. We then went to an Irish pub for a private party of a friend of a friend of a friend who was leaving. It was fun, and I think will's last night wasn't as epic as Alana's but we still had a good time.
Today, Will left and I took him to the airport to make sure he got there ok. I was really sad to see him off.
After I met with my old language exchange pair, Monique. We went to the area near the Louvre and went into Eglise de Roch, which had been the church for the artists in Paris. It was surprisingly beautiful inside, since the outside is so tiny. After we took the metro to Bercy, which used to be where wine was imported to Paris. Now, there are cute restaurants and boutiques in the old wine stalls. I've never been there so it was really nice, and I was surprised I've never herd of it. After, I went back to Luxembourg and met with Mirielle and her Turkish friend to hang out in the park, which was beautiful on this nice day, especially with the palm trees! After I made dinner for Noelle and me: pasta with tomato sauce and mini shrimps :) you'd all be proud, it was delicious! :D :D :D
After, we went down the block from Mickeals house to the Sunday markets and got his mom flowers because it was mothers day in france! We then ate lunch with Mickael and his mom and relaxed.
Later, we had dinner with our friend Alana for all-you-can-eat mussels at a restaurant called Leon. I'm not going to lie, I had 3 buckets of mussels that were in this amazing tomato-based sauce. Definitely the best. My mom would have gone crazy for them.
After, we went to a bar called the Mad Maker that has a cool pirate theme. The tables are barrels and the ceiling has old sails on it and there are cool candle-like lights with chandeliers.
On Monday, Will and I went to Monmartre, a beautiful quater in Paris that is on top of a hill with a beautiful byzantine church that over looks the whole city. We Started off at Pigalle, the "sex district," and walked over to the Moulin Rouge. From there we began walking up the non-traditional way to the top, walking through the winding streets. We made it to the cute little square perched on top by the church that hosts painters and bistros, just as you would imagine Paris to be. At the other corner of the square, in front of an old church there were some performers doing kapoera. We went into the church, but there was actually a funeral going on- very awkward. Then we made it over to the Sacre Coeur, one of the most famous churches in Paris. It is incredibly massive inside and outside there was a fantastic view of Paris. Despite the bad weather, there were still lots of people there, though not as many as on a normal tourist day there. Then we walked behind the Sacre Coeur and down the back way of the hill to wander the streets. We saw the only vineyard in Paris, the only 2 remaining "moulins" or windmills, Picasso's studio and some famous painters house- haha i forget who!
We then went to the cemetary near by to sit down and relax because we were getting very tired. After resting we went back to Luxembourg to hang out with Alana and Noelle- it was alanas last night! So we went to an old hot spot that we used to go to every monday night when I was here last semester: the Great Canadian! Its a fun bar that has "wing night" on monday night- however, despite the name, the wings are not cheap. We had a fun time and went to an American bar near rue Moufftard afterwards to play American drinking games like flip cup and beer pong since you don't play those here and we thought it would be hilarious to go and play. It was definitely a great last night for Alana.
The next day we had to move out of Mickaels to go to Noelle's since now there is an extra room there now that alana's left. We spent a lot of time moseying around and then when we got to the appartment we spent most of the day cleaning. We did go with my friend Mirielle, who's also crashing at Noelle's, to the Marais- a really popular district to walk around and that is known for is Jewish and gay communities. We stopped in Eglise St. Paul, a really old beautiful church, to rest our feet- by this point in the week Will and I are exhausted. We went back to the appartment soon after to nap.
It was Mirielle's birthday, so we went out to sushi, which was actually very good and very cheap. I was really surprised. We then went to an Irish pub for a private party of a friend of a friend of a friend who was leaving. It was fun, and I think will's last night wasn't as epic as Alana's but we still had a good time.
Today, Will left and I took him to the airport to make sure he got there ok. I was really sad to see him off.
After I met with my old language exchange pair, Monique. We went to the area near the Louvre and went into Eglise de Roch, which had been the church for the artists in Paris. It was surprisingly beautiful inside, since the outside is so tiny. After we took the metro to Bercy, which used to be where wine was imported to Paris. Now, there are cute restaurants and boutiques in the old wine stalls. I've never been there so it was really nice, and I was surprised I've never herd of it. After, I went back to Luxembourg and met with Mirielle and her Turkish friend to hang out in the park, which was beautiful on this nice day, especially with the palm trees! After I made dinner for Noelle and me: pasta with tomato sauce and mini shrimps :) you'd all be proud, it was delicious! :D :D :D
Monday, May 31, 2010
Tuesday-Sat (May 25-29)
On Tuesday,we went to Annita's parents' farm where we got to go on a real carriage ride! It was so beautiful, you can't even imagine! We drove through a near by preservation. So nice. We also did more shopping for some more clothes for will. For the rest of our stay in Denmark, we most chilled and hung out, which was nice, especially since we would spend the next week in Paris running all over the place.
After safely and uneventfully arriving in Paris on Wednesday night, we met up with my friends Alana and Noelle from the program I was on last semester, Mickael, who we have been staying with this week, and this guy Dave who we met at the airport who had also had his luggage lost and was from NY. We hung out in alana and noelle's apartment in Luxembourg and then went down to the Seine to hang out. A great way to start off the week.
On Thurs, we woke up pretty early and walked to the Eiffel Tower. There was a giant ramp in front of the tower since someone was going to do an epic fall into it on roller blades. Unfortunately it was raining. Fortunately, not many people ventured out and we had a nice umbrella. Walking around we found a cool park that I've never seen before that had nice bridges and foliage. We also walked along the Seine to look at the house boats. I think that would be so awesome to have a boat on the seine in Paris!
We walked to les egouts, which are the sewers of Paris that you can tour around, but they were closed :( Then we walked to the Petit and Grand Palaises. The Petit palais is free, but right now theyre doing a special Yves Saint Laurent exhibit so there was a line and it was raining so we nixed that. We walked to the nearest Metro to go to La Defence, the modern NYC-ish part of Paris.
when we got out at La Defence it was pouring rain, so we went to eat at Hippopotamus, a easy steak and burgers place thats not too expensive and would fill us up with its American sized portions. By the time we were done eating, the rain let up a little bit and we walked to the arche there. The arche is huge and very impressive. You can see from the steps of the arche down to the Arc du Triomphe which was cool. There is also a lot of neat modern art around which made it really nice to walk around. It has very modern skyscrapers, not at all like the traditional Paris most people know.
Then I was able to get in touch with my friend Pat, who is French and works at Societe General, a French bank. the next day would be his last day, so it was ok for him to take a break and meet with us to chat. Unfortunately, he left Paris this past Monday and will be back from June 11-19, but I won't be in Paris around then. At least I got to catch him this one last time! He was supposed to have a job in NY this summer, which would have been SO awesome, but the "budget was cut" so they cancelled the job/internship he was gonna have. Mega bummer...
Then we took the metro over to the Arc du Triomphe. It was suddenly pretty nice out so we went to the top of the Arc and had the most awesome view of Paris. So great! We must have stayed up there for about half an hour...
then we went down, and suddenly it was raining again. We hung out by the tomb of the unknown soldier under the arc, since we were going to meet my old penpal Salome right near by so we figured we'd wait it out.
We met Salome at La Flamme, a cafe right by the Arc. She also had a bunch of her friends come, which was really nice and they wanted to improve their English so we'd talk to them in english, but then they'd get frustrated and start talking in french, which really helped my french, since its a little rusty from not really having used it this semester as much.
After having some sodas with them there, we went back to Mickaels and had dinner with him and his mom. She made chicken and potatoes which was sooo tasty! we stayed in that night because we were so tired.
On Friday, Noelle, Alana, Will, and I went to Giverny, which is where Monet's garden is. We had the most amazing day ever! We got really lucky, since it was the only nice day in Paris this week. We walked to Monet's garden, about a one hour walk, and had stopped in a Lidl (a super cheap super market) on the way to get sandwiches. We saw the garden, which, compared to when I saw it just before it closed for the season last fall, was amazing, though some people said it is usually more full this time of year but there was a late frost or something. The garden was amazing and the pond was as beautiful as you can imagine. We also went into his house which was nice. However, there were a lot of school children that day so there were times where it was very very crowded.
We had a picnic for lunch, eating our sandwiches in a field next to a restaurant. We cat napped and sunbathed and just enjoyed the sun in general. I kept reminding myself how lucky I am...
On the way back to the train station, we went kayaking. I couldnt really take pictures for this but it was so much fun. They kayaks were cheap and we got to do it for 2 hours. We packed some bread and wine and off we went along the Seine- so fun and beautiful!!! there wasnt much to see in terms of a description, but it was beautiful with the blue sky and all the foliage and the boats cruising by us.
That night we met up with one of Salomes friends and went traipsing around Paris into the wee hours of the night, having a total blast! It was really great...
On Saturday, we went to where I used to live in the Cite Universitaire because they were doing a cultural event called Fete de la Cite. We saw spanish dancers and there was a lot of food, though you had to pay for it and we were too cheap to do that. So after wandering amongst the buildings there, which there is one for all different countries and they are all different, we walked across the street to Parc Montsouris. There were picnickers and families, despite the cloudy weather. will and I sat at a bench there to rest our exhausted feet.
Then we met up with alana and had some sandwiches at a cheap place. we went to the eiffel tower to see that guy do that jump I mentioned earlier. It was super windy, his shirt was blowing like crazy. He jumped from 10m high and roller bladed down a 40m ramp. It was really intense, since he clearly lost his balance but he didnt fall. We left right after, but apparently he did another jump because he wasnt satisfied with the first one.
After that, we went to a sports bar because there was the championship rugby game, on par with the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, everyone seemed tired and my friend Noelle joined us, but she did not seem at all interested in the sport, so we left. I was kind of bummed, but it was 3 against one haha. So we went to a friend of Alana and Noelle's couscous restaurant. It was so nice! I had chicken on a skewer with cousous and this great sauce. It was nice to rest our feet and the food was free! So awesome, but we that meant we missed the game. We tried to go out after on rue Moufftard, but I was super exhausted so we went back.
Alright, well I'm using alana's computer and shes trying to pack (its her last night!) and its not looking good, so I'm gonna help her b/c we are waiting on her to finish before going out to dinner and drinks... talk to you all soon!!!!
After safely and uneventfully arriving in Paris on Wednesday night, we met up with my friends Alana and Noelle from the program I was on last semester, Mickael, who we have been staying with this week, and this guy Dave who we met at the airport who had also had his luggage lost and was from NY. We hung out in alana and noelle's apartment in Luxembourg and then went down to the Seine to hang out. A great way to start off the week.
On Thurs, we woke up pretty early and walked to the Eiffel Tower. There was a giant ramp in front of the tower since someone was going to do an epic fall into it on roller blades. Unfortunately it was raining. Fortunately, not many people ventured out and we had a nice umbrella. Walking around we found a cool park that I've never seen before that had nice bridges and foliage. We also walked along the Seine to look at the house boats. I think that would be so awesome to have a boat on the seine in Paris!
We walked to les egouts, which are the sewers of Paris that you can tour around, but they were closed :( Then we walked to the Petit and Grand Palaises. The Petit palais is free, but right now theyre doing a special Yves Saint Laurent exhibit so there was a line and it was raining so we nixed that. We walked to the nearest Metro to go to La Defence, the modern NYC-ish part of Paris.
when we got out at La Defence it was pouring rain, so we went to eat at Hippopotamus, a easy steak and burgers place thats not too expensive and would fill us up with its American sized portions. By the time we were done eating, the rain let up a little bit and we walked to the arche there. The arche is huge and very impressive. You can see from the steps of the arche down to the Arc du Triomphe which was cool. There is also a lot of neat modern art around which made it really nice to walk around. It has very modern skyscrapers, not at all like the traditional Paris most people know.
Then I was able to get in touch with my friend Pat, who is French and works at Societe General, a French bank. the next day would be his last day, so it was ok for him to take a break and meet with us to chat. Unfortunately, he left Paris this past Monday and will be back from June 11-19, but I won't be in Paris around then. At least I got to catch him this one last time! He was supposed to have a job in NY this summer, which would have been SO awesome, but the "budget was cut" so they cancelled the job/internship he was gonna have. Mega bummer...
Then we took the metro over to the Arc du Triomphe. It was suddenly pretty nice out so we went to the top of the Arc and had the most awesome view of Paris. So great! We must have stayed up there for about half an hour...
then we went down, and suddenly it was raining again. We hung out by the tomb of the unknown soldier under the arc, since we were going to meet my old penpal Salome right near by so we figured we'd wait it out.
We met Salome at La Flamme, a cafe right by the Arc. She also had a bunch of her friends come, which was really nice and they wanted to improve their English so we'd talk to them in english, but then they'd get frustrated and start talking in french, which really helped my french, since its a little rusty from not really having used it this semester as much.
After having some sodas with them there, we went back to Mickaels and had dinner with him and his mom. She made chicken and potatoes which was sooo tasty! we stayed in that night because we were so tired.
On Friday, Noelle, Alana, Will, and I went to Giverny, which is where Monet's garden is. We had the most amazing day ever! We got really lucky, since it was the only nice day in Paris this week. We walked to Monet's garden, about a one hour walk, and had stopped in a Lidl (a super cheap super market) on the way to get sandwiches. We saw the garden, which, compared to when I saw it just before it closed for the season last fall, was amazing, though some people said it is usually more full this time of year but there was a late frost or something. The garden was amazing and the pond was as beautiful as you can imagine. We also went into his house which was nice. However, there were a lot of school children that day so there were times where it was very very crowded.
We had a picnic for lunch, eating our sandwiches in a field next to a restaurant. We cat napped and sunbathed and just enjoyed the sun in general. I kept reminding myself how lucky I am...
On the way back to the train station, we went kayaking. I couldnt really take pictures for this but it was so much fun. They kayaks were cheap and we got to do it for 2 hours. We packed some bread and wine and off we went along the Seine- so fun and beautiful!!! there wasnt much to see in terms of a description, but it was beautiful with the blue sky and all the foliage and the boats cruising by us.
That night we met up with one of Salomes friends and went traipsing around Paris into the wee hours of the night, having a total blast! It was really great...
On Saturday, we went to where I used to live in the Cite Universitaire because they were doing a cultural event called Fete de la Cite. We saw spanish dancers and there was a lot of food, though you had to pay for it and we were too cheap to do that. So after wandering amongst the buildings there, which there is one for all different countries and they are all different, we walked across the street to Parc Montsouris. There were picnickers and families, despite the cloudy weather. will and I sat at a bench there to rest our exhausted feet.
Then we met up with alana and had some sandwiches at a cheap place. we went to the eiffel tower to see that guy do that jump I mentioned earlier. It was super windy, his shirt was blowing like crazy. He jumped from 10m high and roller bladed down a 40m ramp. It was really intense, since he clearly lost his balance but he didnt fall. We left right after, but apparently he did another jump because he wasnt satisfied with the first one.
After that, we went to a sports bar because there was the championship rugby game, on par with the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, everyone seemed tired and my friend Noelle joined us, but she did not seem at all interested in the sport, so we left. I was kind of bummed, but it was 3 against one haha. So we went to a friend of Alana and Noelle's couscous restaurant. It was so nice! I had chicken on a skewer with cousous and this great sauce. It was nice to rest our feet and the food was free! So awesome, but we that meant we missed the game. We tried to go out after on rue Moufftard, but I was super exhausted so we went back.
Alright, well I'm using alana's computer and shes trying to pack (its her last night!) and its not looking good, so I'm gonna help her b/c we are waiting on her to finish before going out to dinner and drinks... talk to you all soon!!!!
photos!
hey everyone! Sorry its been so long before I could update. I dont have my laptop here, so I've been using other peoples' computers. Here are some picks i put up on facebook and made public so everyone can see!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=180813&id=544216318&l=37da3e21b2
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=180814&id=544216318&l=0e905c51f7
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=180869&id=544216318&l=32cea643c2
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=180813&id=544216318&l=37da3e21b2
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=180814&id=544216318&l=0e905c51f7
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=180869&id=544216318&l=32cea643c2
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