This is my LAST BLOG POST for this trip! Ah!!!
Hm... Thursday I met for lunch with Jacky Jad and Laura. A girl Laura used to babysit was studying in Spain, so she visited Paris with 5 other American girls who were on the trip. We all met in Troccadero in front of the Eiffel Tower for a huge picnic. It was really fun and the girls visiting got to see the Eiffel Tower.
After, Laura and I had to leave because we were going to an Edun party. Edun is a new brand by Bono's wife that uses products made by Africans. After, Laura had to meet the girls up for dinner, and I went with a friend Kathrine to a Carrera party (its a sunglasses brand). It was totally dead because apparently there were 6 other designer promo parties that night or something, so I got to invite all my friends. Laura couldn't make it, but Jacky and Jad did. The place was beautiful! It was some famous French actors apartment (don't ask me who, I keep forgetting) in the 16th arrondissement (the most expensive area in paris) and it overlooked the seine and the eiffel tower. So nice!
Friday, I met up with a bunch of people from work, since they go out to lunch together every Friday. After, I met up with Laura in Bastille. I got there early, so I walked around on the docks near by. Its so beautiful, all the boats. It made me really excited to come home and spend time on our boat! Then Laura, Jad, and the girls met me and we walked to some stores though Bastille towards the Marais. By the end I was so exhausted, I went to Luxembourg Garden to lay down. After, I decided I wanted to make me and Noelle some dinner, so I made fried rice. But if you know me, I'm not a cook. So, I messed up right away with the eggs. The rice and the shrimp went well, but then when I put in the peas and carrots, there were just too many peas. It ended up being peas with fried rice instead of friend rice with peas. However, Noelle said she liked it and we did eat it! After, we watched Barefoot in the Park- such a good movie!!!
Saturday Jad and I went on a tour that a teacher of mine recommended. It went through a Carmelite church that was very pretty, but the tour was a little too detailed and a little boring. Finally, after an hour, we got to the cool stuff- a room where there is a splatter of blood from a massacre during the revolution and a room with skulls and bones from the people who were massacred. After, we walked through Luxembourg Garden and stumbled on the Gay Pride Parade going down St. Michel. It was actually really cool, with these huge flatbed trucks with music and djs and people dancing and dressed up. It was incredible. After, Jad had to go home to get something he had forgotten, so I went with him. He lives outside of Paris in a small suburban town on a river. I think its really quaint; he thinks its very lame.
Sunday.... i dont remember what we did Sunday...
Monday I went to the Chateau de Vincennes. It is this neat old chateau located on the eastern corner of Paris. It is very old and what you imagine what a real castle would look like with white brick stone walls and towers and everything. There was also a small chapel that was based on Saint Chapelle, one of the most beautiful chapels in France, but this one was disappointing.
Monday night I went to a club called Queen where they play disco music! There was even a Mickael Jackson impersonator. So funny, and I really felt like i was in the 70s haha
Tuesday I went to the catacombs. The catacombs were ok. The bones were stacked and it was mostly femurs and things and then there'd be a row of skulls and that was pretty cool. The bones on the top of the stacks were loose- you really could just pick them up if you wanted to (though they check at the end to make sure you don't steal any). I was a little disappointed though- I thought there would be more art using the bones, but really they were just stacked with a few designs randomly throughout the catacombs. After, we went for a walk in the Bastille because I wanted to see a railway track that was converted into a beautiful walkway. Then we met George and went to a bar to eat (I had fish and chips and they had hamburgers- so french haha)and to watch a World Cup game. After the game, George left and we went to another bar called the Long Hop to meet Jacky and Laura... I stayed as long as humanly possible before I had to leave to go and pack. My flight was at 8am, so I had to catch a 5am train. No sleep for Kristen.
That was definitely the best week of my life, and I really got attached to Jad, Jacky, and Laura since we spent so much amazing time together and really clicked well. I wouldn't trade that time for anything, and honestly I think I may have had more fun with them than on my last trip to paris....
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Friday June 18- Wed. June 23
Wow, I cant believe how far behind I've fallen...
On Friday, we went to the Belvedere Castle, where there is a long lawn that was really nice and a wonderful castle. In the castle, there is a museum with the most Klimt's apparently. We went inside and I got to see The Kiss, my favorite of Klimt (I have a copy of it in my room) and a very famous French painting of Napoleon on a white horse. After, we went home for lunch and a nap.
The next day, it was pouring rain and Barbara was really tired so I ventured out on my own. By the time I got to schönbrunn castle, it was clearing up. Schönbrunn also has an enormous garden, but bigger than the Belvedere. And at the top is a large building where the emperor used to have his breakfast! The gardens were beautiful- roses, fountains, and statues everywhere. There was also one of the oldest zoos in europe there, but I didnt go in...
By the time I finished wandering around the gardens for hours, it was a beautiful sunny day. I went over to where there is a famous ferris wheel and amusement park. At the last minute I decided I didnt want to go up the ferris wheel. I decided to walk around the park that is behind the amusement park. I walk for hours and had a mexican lunch. Then I stopped and watched the Australia vs. Ghana game on a huge screen in front of the ferris wheel. That was really fun!
At half time, I decided to go the center of the city, by St. Stephens, one last time while it was still nice. I just wandered the streets trying to take in Vienna. To me, Vienna looks a lot like Paris but some how a little different. They have narrow cobbled streets, similar building facades, and wide boulevards just like Paris, but theres something different, and truthfully, I am a complete Paris-phile, and will always think it is the best. Its so weird- I love all the cities I've visited, but still Paris is the best to me. Even now (sine I'm home, and as you'll hear I had the best last leg in Paris ever), I think that Paris is even better- better than NYC even! Its so weird...
On Sunday, I had to leave. Barbara was an amazing host, and she really made the trip so amazing.
I took a bus from Vienna to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, to fly back to Paris. The bus ride was actually kind of cool. Towards the end there was a town where there was like a citadel or something on top of a hill over looking the old town. Very cool. Bratislava seemed ok too- its a pretty big city tucked away into the countryside. There was some sort of big castle there that I could see from the road, but otherwise it looked like a pretty new city.
When I got to Paris, I met Noelle and our friend Katherine for coffee in Paul, which is the staple good French chain food store. After, we went to Leon for unlimited mussels!! So delicious...
On Monday, I wandered around the Luxembourg Gardens and then went to where I used to live at Cite Universitaire. There is a nice park in the back of it so I walked around for a while to kill some time. After, I met Laura and Jacky at a cafe for drinks. So nice to see them again. I missed them a LOT. After, they were both tired from an epic night before, so they went home to sleep and I went home to get ready for the FETE DE LA MUSIQUE! The Fete is this really awesome thing in Paris where there is music everywhere- on the streets, in bars, in cafes! You can drink anywhere and everyone is having a great time. My friend from Binghamton, George, had just gotten to Paris to start an internship with the UN and he brought his friend from high school who now lives in Paris, Jad. Great thing I met Jad, because he was done with school and everything and so we spent the whole week together having a great time while others were working and things. The Fete was so much fun and totally amazing. You can only imagine the rowdiness.
Tuesday morning, me and Jad delivered letters for Noelle to different fancy hotels for a Christian Lacroix fashion show. After, I took him to Breakfast in America, an American-style diner, and introduced him to the root beer float haha! Then we went to the Jardin des Plantes, and in it there is a menagerie, which is a small zoo. We went in and saw exotic birds and monkeys and everything. I really regret that I didnt have my camera! After, we went to watch the last French soccer match of the World Cup on a giant screen in front of the Eiffel Tower. We couldn't really see from where we were sitting, so we stopped paying attention, but apparently France lost. After we separated to shower, and later we met up with George and his friend Zaid and just hung out for a few hours.
Wed. we met Laura and Jacky for a picnic in Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, which is a beautiful park with lots of hills and lawns and lakes. There were also a lot of kids there, and it seemed they were having a soap box car racing competition. We hung there for lunch for hours, taking in the sun- so nice to finally be having amazing weather! And it stayed like that for the whole week (of course, now theyre having a heat wave).
After, we went to a bar in Montmartre to meet Laura's boyfriend and watch the US vs. Algeria game. We had to be careful, because there were a lot of Algerians around and they don't take crap from anyone. After Algeria lost to the US, they burned cars down by where I used to live. Crazy!
Then we met Noelle after she got off work and hung out for a bit (that's when I saw Karl Lagarfeld). After, Jacky and Jad came over and we had pasta for dinner.
Ok, well I'm all out of steam for writing... I'm almost done! I'm sorry its so far behind, and probably no one cares any more, because I'm home now! But this last week was probably one of the best weeks of my life- it was amazing. I'm so excited for a beautiful, American 4th of July weekend!
On Friday, we went to the Belvedere Castle, where there is a long lawn that was really nice and a wonderful castle. In the castle, there is a museum with the most Klimt's apparently. We went inside and I got to see The Kiss, my favorite of Klimt (I have a copy of it in my room) and a very famous French painting of Napoleon on a white horse. After, we went home for lunch and a nap.
The next day, it was pouring rain and Barbara was really tired so I ventured out on my own. By the time I got to schönbrunn castle, it was clearing up. Schönbrunn also has an enormous garden, but bigger than the Belvedere. And at the top is a large building where the emperor used to have his breakfast! The gardens were beautiful- roses, fountains, and statues everywhere. There was also one of the oldest zoos in europe there, but I didnt go in...
By the time I finished wandering around the gardens for hours, it was a beautiful sunny day. I went over to where there is a famous ferris wheel and amusement park. At the last minute I decided I didnt want to go up the ferris wheel. I decided to walk around the park that is behind the amusement park. I walk for hours and had a mexican lunch. Then I stopped and watched the Australia vs. Ghana game on a huge screen in front of the ferris wheel. That was really fun!
At half time, I decided to go the center of the city, by St. Stephens, one last time while it was still nice. I just wandered the streets trying to take in Vienna. To me, Vienna looks a lot like Paris but some how a little different. They have narrow cobbled streets, similar building facades, and wide boulevards just like Paris, but theres something different, and truthfully, I am a complete Paris-phile, and will always think it is the best. Its so weird- I love all the cities I've visited, but still Paris is the best to me. Even now (sine I'm home, and as you'll hear I had the best last leg in Paris ever), I think that Paris is even better- better than NYC even! Its so weird...
On Sunday, I had to leave. Barbara was an amazing host, and she really made the trip so amazing.
I took a bus from Vienna to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, to fly back to Paris. The bus ride was actually kind of cool. Towards the end there was a town where there was like a citadel or something on top of a hill over looking the old town. Very cool. Bratislava seemed ok too- its a pretty big city tucked away into the countryside. There was some sort of big castle there that I could see from the road, but otherwise it looked like a pretty new city.
When I got to Paris, I met Noelle and our friend Katherine for coffee in Paul, which is the staple good French chain food store. After, we went to Leon for unlimited mussels!! So delicious...
On Monday, I wandered around the Luxembourg Gardens and then went to where I used to live at Cite Universitaire. There is a nice park in the back of it so I walked around for a while to kill some time. After, I met Laura and Jacky at a cafe for drinks. So nice to see them again. I missed them a LOT. After, they were both tired from an epic night before, so they went home to sleep and I went home to get ready for the FETE DE LA MUSIQUE! The Fete is this really awesome thing in Paris where there is music everywhere- on the streets, in bars, in cafes! You can drink anywhere and everyone is having a great time. My friend from Binghamton, George, had just gotten to Paris to start an internship with the UN and he brought his friend from high school who now lives in Paris, Jad. Great thing I met Jad, because he was done with school and everything and so we spent the whole week together having a great time while others were working and things. The Fete was so much fun and totally amazing. You can only imagine the rowdiness.
Tuesday morning, me and Jad delivered letters for Noelle to different fancy hotels for a Christian Lacroix fashion show. After, I took him to Breakfast in America, an American-style diner, and introduced him to the root beer float haha! Then we went to the Jardin des Plantes, and in it there is a menagerie, which is a small zoo. We went in and saw exotic birds and monkeys and everything. I really regret that I didnt have my camera! After, we went to watch the last French soccer match of the World Cup on a giant screen in front of the Eiffel Tower. We couldn't really see from where we were sitting, so we stopped paying attention, but apparently France lost. After we separated to shower, and later we met up with George and his friend Zaid and just hung out for a few hours.
Wed. we met Laura and Jacky for a picnic in Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, which is a beautiful park with lots of hills and lawns and lakes. There were also a lot of kids there, and it seemed they were having a soap box car racing competition. We hung there for lunch for hours, taking in the sun- so nice to finally be having amazing weather! And it stayed like that for the whole week (of course, now theyre having a heat wave).
After, we went to a bar in Montmartre to meet Laura's boyfriend and watch the US vs. Algeria game. We had to be careful, because there were a lot of Algerians around and they don't take crap from anyone. After Algeria lost to the US, they burned cars down by where I used to live. Crazy!
Then we met Noelle after she got off work and hung out for a bit (that's when I saw Karl Lagarfeld). After, Jacky and Jad came over and we had pasta for dinner.
Ok, well I'm all out of steam for writing... I'm almost done! I'm sorry its so far behind, and probably no one cares any more, because I'm home now! But this last week was probably one of the best weeks of my life- it was amazing. I'm so excited for a beautiful, American 4th of July weekend!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Wed. June 17 and Thurs June 18
Yesterday was a terrible day with pouring rain all day long. It was aweful. Barbaras husband had a friend visiting so we had a barbeque and watched the soccer games. Poor Sarah cried all day and didnt sleep once. She then continued to cry all night. Poor Barbara.
Today Barbara, Sarah and I went out to the city center again near St. Stephens cathedral. I went to the top of the cathedral; all 343 narrow, winding steps. The view was amazing, and because of the tough climb there werent many people obstructing my view.
Then we walked through the city to where there are old roman ruins. They are just bricks in the ground, but they reflect how old the city is, and to me its really cool. Behind the ruins is where the crown jewles are kept. Walking through the building,called the Mickaelerplatz, which has a green dome, you open up into an open area, and then you pass again under arches and then to your left is the Austrian National Library and on your right is Volksgarten. In front of you are the Natural Sciences and the Technical Museums. Barbara and I walked through Voksgarten, which is very beautiful. Towards the back of the garden is a rose garden which is full of beautiful roses and a fountain.
Behind the garden is the Parliament Building, which has a very romanesque style and a statue representing justice in front of it.
We then walked past the Theater and City Hall, which has a very gothic style in contrast to the Parliament Building.
We stopped to meet up with Barbaras husband Martin at the university, but since he wasnt there yet we stopped in. Apparently it is normally very quite but today there seemed to have been a job fair or something. There was a panel of people talking in the entranceway of the university and in the courtyard there were booths inside the arcades and there was a group of students sitting on the grass protesting something.
Then we met Martin and walked to the "Bermuda Triangle" which is where there are a bunch of bars and restaurants. We sat outside at a restuarant called Bermuda Bar. I got to have schnitzle, which is deep fried pork basically and tasted really really good.
After we walked towards the Danube canal and along there. We passed a cool bar along the Danube canal that had sand and a beach theme. They also had a huge screen where the World Cup was playing, so we had coffee and watched the first half of the Greece vs. Nigeria game. Then we continued walking. Along the Danube, they allow the walls to be used for graffiti, but its really cool and looks really good, not dumb names.
We continued along the canal, which eventually became much more park-like. There were nice trees and you could choose to walk on the paved walkway closer to the road or a gravel path closer to the canal and more hidden among the trees.
We eventually walked to the Hundertwasser Village. Hundertwasser was an artist who decided to become an architect. He believed that straight lines and bland colors were not natural, and therefore came up with the much more lively and vibrant buildings. The outsides of the buildings have different colors and the lines on the buildings suggest that each level is at an angle. We got to go inside the building, even though theyre private, because Martin is a cop and here the cops have a key to get access to all the appartment buildings in Vienna. So we went to the top of the building to go in the garden. Inside, the ground is not flat, but also not at an angle; it has bumps and curves and there are tiles on the walls in a squiggly line in different colors and the walls are white but also not smooth. Outside there was a great view of the city as well as the other parts of the village. After, we were exhausted and came home.
I went swimming in their pool just above their building! It was really nice and there was a guy there who i could talk to so it wasnt as boring as i thought it would be but that meant i was too embarrassed to take pictures of the view. After, Barbaras mother came over. She gave me a swarovski candle holder for me to remember Vienna by!! She also helped Barbara with the baby, who was being very coliky tonight, as well as ironing and cleaning! She was very sweet, though Barbara is exhausted from not getting much sleep and walking around all day so she was very impatient with her mom- haha sounds a little like me and my mom sometimes!
I can still hear the baby crying and Martin has to get up for work at 6am and Barbara wants to show me around again tomorrow! I wish I could be more helpful--- having a baby is so hard, especially on no sleep!
Pictures of Vienna are up! Ive already taken 150! But the camera is finally telling me its getting low on battery (I dont have my converter, i think i left it at Mikaels house or something, so I havent charged it for 2 weeks now!)... Im gonna have to steal Barbaras camera soon and take pics on hers haha
here is the link:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4801668&l=d3c515198a&id=544216318
Today Barbara, Sarah and I went out to the city center again near St. Stephens cathedral. I went to the top of the cathedral; all 343 narrow, winding steps. The view was amazing, and because of the tough climb there werent many people obstructing my view.
Then we walked through the city to where there are old roman ruins. They are just bricks in the ground, but they reflect how old the city is, and to me its really cool. Behind the ruins is where the crown jewles are kept. Walking through the building,called the Mickaelerplatz, which has a green dome, you open up into an open area, and then you pass again under arches and then to your left is the Austrian National Library and on your right is Volksgarten. In front of you are the Natural Sciences and the Technical Museums. Barbara and I walked through Voksgarten, which is very beautiful. Towards the back of the garden is a rose garden which is full of beautiful roses and a fountain.
Behind the garden is the Parliament Building, which has a very romanesque style and a statue representing justice in front of it.
We then walked past the Theater and City Hall, which has a very gothic style in contrast to the Parliament Building.
We stopped to meet up with Barbaras husband Martin at the university, but since he wasnt there yet we stopped in. Apparently it is normally very quite but today there seemed to have been a job fair or something. There was a panel of people talking in the entranceway of the university and in the courtyard there were booths inside the arcades and there was a group of students sitting on the grass protesting something.
Then we met Martin and walked to the "Bermuda Triangle" which is where there are a bunch of bars and restaurants. We sat outside at a restuarant called Bermuda Bar. I got to have schnitzle, which is deep fried pork basically and tasted really really good.
After we walked towards the Danube canal and along there. We passed a cool bar along the Danube canal that had sand and a beach theme. They also had a huge screen where the World Cup was playing, so we had coffee and watched the first half of the Greece vs. Nigeria game. Then we continued walking. Along the Danube, they allow the walls to be used for graffiti, but its really cool and looks really good, not dumb names.
We continued along the canal, which eventually became much more park-like. There were nice trees and you could choose to walk on the paved walkway closer to the road or a gravel path closer to the canal and more hidden among the trees.
We eventually walked to the Hundertwasser Village. Hundertwasser was an artist who decided to become an architect. He believed that straight lines and bland colors were not natural, and therefore came up with the much more lively and vibrant buildings. The outsides of the buildings have different colors and the lines on the buildings suggest that each level is at an angle. We got to go inside the building, even though theyre private, because Martin is a cop and here the cops have a key to get access to all the appartment buildings in Vienna. So we went to the top of the building to go in the garden. Inside, the ground is not flat, but also not at an angle; it has bumps and curves and there are tiles on the walls in a squiggly line in different colors and the walls are white but also not smooth. Outside there was a great view of the city as well as the other parts of the village. After, we were exhausted and came home.
I went swimming in their pool just above their building! It was really nice and there was a guy there who i could talk to so it wasnt as boring as i thought it would be but that meant i was too embarrassed to take pictures of the view. After, Barbaras mother came over. She gave me a swarovski candle holder for me to remember Vienna by!! She also helped Barbara with the baby, who was being very coliky tonight, as well as ironing and cleaning! She was very sweet, though Barbara is exhausted from not getting much sleep and walking around all day so she was very impatient with her mom- haha sounds a little like me and my mom sometimes!
I can still hear the baby crying and Martin has to get up for work at 6am and Barbara wants to show me around again tomorrow! I wish I could be more helpful--- having a baby is so hard, especially on no sleep!
Pictures of Vienna are up! Ive already taken 150! But the camera is finally telling me its getting low on battery (I dont have my converter, i think i left it at Mikaels house or something, so I havent charged it for 2 weeks now!)... Im gonna have to steal Barbaras camera soon and take pics on hers haha
here is the link:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4801668&l=d3c515198a&id=544216318
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Friday June 11 to Tues June 15
Friday feels like it was so long ago... It was raining so we went to the mall. Malls are the same in Estonia and the US lol it was really big and clean. We had sushi for lunch, which was very cheap. I had a california roll with salmon and tuna rolled on top and shrimp tempura rolls. sooooooo good!
Then that night I went to a bar called Nimeta Baar, which means bar with no name. Triin told me its where a lot of English guys go, and there was a World Cup game between France and Uruguay (tie 0-0) that I wanted to watch. The game was so boring, no action, so I herd these guys speaking English and introduced myself to them since I was by myself. Turns out they are the national sailing teams from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, and later the Neatherlands, France, and Germany. It was dude central, and luckily they all thought I was cool. Some of them had been in the Olympics, and most of them were in Tallinn for the regata to qualify for the next summer olympics. I met the best North American sailor, and the coach of the German team. So cool. Suddenly i realized most of them were gone around 3am, and then i rememberd- they had a fligh at 6am! haha they must have gone to get their stuff and leave... so i went home... so awesome... I took a cab back. They have estonian kroons in Estonia, but they are switching to the euro next year, so they take euros too (luckily, since i realized AFTER i got in the cab that i had no more kroons)...
The next day we went to Parnu, the summer capital of estonia. While it was raining again in Tallinn, it was sunny in Parnu (pronounced par-no). We went to go see a wind surfing competition, and Timo was hoping he would get to get a little wind surfing in... unfortunately, the wind was about 12 knots (they didnt know the mph version, so thay told me in knots... good thing my parents are boaters!), too strong for even intermediated boarders. We could only watch the compition for a second, because the sand was whipping our faces and we couldnt take Stiina out of the car because she woud probably cry. Then we went around the town, had some pizza (i had a calzone that was bigger than you can even imagine, stuffed with tomatoes and ham and mushrooms). The town was pretty empty, and they seemed very surprised, since normally its getting very crowded on teh weekend this time of year. But it was super cold and windy, so thats probably why.
That night, we just hung out and watched the World Cup game US vs England (tie 1-1, much more exciting)...
Sunday was my last day, but again it was raining. So me and Triin went to see Sex and the City 2 (sooooooooooo funny!!!! mom- take all your girl friends to see it with you! its so great, and really meant for women your age, which never happens haha). Then we had lunch at a crepe place and I had a chicken crepe which was good. Then we went home and walked Stiina through the forest that is in their back yard. For dinner, Triin and I went to a restaurant called Olde Haas or something. Its very touristy, but very cool. It is in an old building from the 14th century or something and has all these paintings that make the place llook authentic and all the workers dress up and theres all different food that really was from the 14th century, like we had wild boar and they make beer there and you drink it in a real ceramic mug. The beer I had was honey beer with cinnamon in it- very tasty but heavy.
That morning I left for Vienna! I flew from Tallinn airport to Vienna where Barbara and her husband Martin and her 1 month old baby girl Sarah picked me up! For lunch we had pizza and I got to try Martins home made schnapps! Very, very good! But then I was too full to eat anything for the rest of the day, even when we went for ice cream! They have an awesome appartment at the end of the subway line, so its only 15 min or so from the center of Vienna. There is an outdoor pool just on the floor above their appt. They also have a balcony. Its so nice! And Sarah is so tiny, the first time I held her it was too hard, I was so afraid of hurting her neck or something!
Today, Barbaras best friend Teresa came over and we all went to Laxenburg, a large park/garden where there are a bunch of old castles and ponds. It was beautiful and fortunately a nice day.
After me and Barbara and the baby went into the center of the city where theres is an old famous church called St Stevens cathedral, its THE most famous thing in Vienna. We had some coffee in a chain coffee place so Barbara could feed the baby. Then we had to stop in a Nescaffe boutique to buy refills for their espresso machine, which was so cool because it was just a place to buy these little things for the coffee machine, but it was really fancy. The city is really beautiful and old. I really like it.
Then we went home and now were just hanging out, watching tv, and having pasta carbonera for dinner :)
Then that night I went to a bar called Nimeta Baar, which means bar with no name. Triin told me its where a lot of English guys go, and there was a World Cup game between France and Uruguay (tie 0-0) that I wanted to watch. The game was so boring, no action, so I herd these guys speaking English and introduced myself to them since I was by myself. Turns out they are the national sailing teams from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, and later the Neatherlands, France, and Germany. It was dude central, and luckily they all thought I was cool. Some of them had been in the Olympics, and most of them were in Tallinn for the regata to qualify for the next summer olympics. I met the best North American sailor, and the coach of the German team. So cool. Suddenly i realized most of them were gone around 3am, and then i rememberd- they had a fligh at 6am! haha they must have gone to get their stuff and leave... so i went home... so awesome... I took a cab back. They have estonian kroons in Estonia, but they are switching to the euro next year, so they take euros too (luckily, since i realized AFTER i got in the cab that i had no more kroons)...
The next day we went to Parnu, the summer capital of estonia. While it was raining again in Tallinn, it was sunny in Parnu (pronounced par-no). We went to go see a wind surfing competition, and Timo was hoping he would get to get a little wind surfing in... unfortunately, the wind was about 12 knots (they didnt know the mph version, so thay told me in knots... good thing my parents are boaters!), too strong for even intermediated boarders. We could only watch the compition for a second, because the sand was whipping our faces and we couldnt take Stiina out of the car because she woud probably cry. Then we went around the town, had some pizza (i had a calzone that was bigger than you can even imagine, stuffed with tomatoes and ham and mushrooms). The town was pretty empty, and they seemed very surprised, since normally its getting very crowded on teh weekend this time of year. But it was super cold and windy, so thats probably why.
That night, we just hung out and watched the World Cup game US vs England (tie 1-1, much more exciting)...
Sunday was my last day, but again it was raining. So me and Triin went to see Sex and the City 2 (sooooooooooo funny!!!! mom- take all your girl friends to see it with you! its so great, and really meant for women your age, which never happens haha). Then we had lunch at a crepe place and I had a chicken crepe which was good. Then we went home and walked Stiina through the forest that is in their back yard. For dinner, Triin and I went to a restaurant called Olde Haas or something. Its very touristy, but very cool. It is in an old building from the 14th century or something and has all these paintings that make the place llook authentic and all the workers dress up and theres all different food that really was from the 14th century, like we had wild boar and they make beer there and you drink it in a real ceramic mug. The beer I had was honey beer with cinnamon in it- very tasty but heavy.
That morning I left for Vienna! I flew from Tallinn airport to Vienna where Barbara and her husband Martin and her 1 month old baby girl Sarah picked me up! For lunch we had pizza and I got to try Martins home made schnapps! Very, very good! But then I was too full to eat anything for the rest of the day, even when we went for ice cream! They have an awesome appartment at the end of the subway line, so its only 15 min or so from the center of Vienna. There is an outdoor pool just on the floor above their appt. They also have a balcony. Its so nice! And Sarah is so tiny, the first time I held her it was too hard, I was so afraid of hurting her neck or something!
Today, Barbaras best friend Teresa came over and we all went to Laxenburg, a large park/garden where there are a bunch of old castles and ponds. It was beautiful and fortunately a nice day.
After me and Barbara and the baby went into the center of the city where theres is an old famous church called St Stevens cathedral, its THE most famous thing in Vienna. We had some coffee in a chain coffee place so Barbara could feed the baby. Then we had to stop in a Nescaffe boutique to buy refills for their espresso machine, which was so cool because it was just a place to buy these little things for the coffee machine, but it was really fancy. The city is really beautiful and old. I really like it.
Then we went home and now were just hanging out, watching tv, and having pasta carbonera for dinner :)
Friday, June 11, 2010
Estonia photos!
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
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=182537&id=544216318&l=f334eb8590
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
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