Italy!!

Jayda and I spent about 48 hours of travel to get from Santorini to Rome including 2 overnight ferries and 2 trains. We stopped in Athens for a few hours and toured the 2004 Olympic Stadium (where Samira swam :D) then continued on through Patras, Greece where I saw absolutely beautiful country. On the ferry from Patras to Bari, Italy I was THE most gorgeous sunset I have ever seen from the ship's deck. Incredible.
In the port city, Bari, Jayda and I walked through an open air fish market where one of the vendors convinced us to taste not only raw oysters, but raw jellyfish as well!! When in Bari...? We also went to St. Nicholas' church and saw his tomb. That night in Rome we met up with Callie and Kristen in Rome:) and caught up over a bottle of wine and sandwiches.
My first time in Rome was a blast (perhaps because my friends are so great.) We stayed in a super friendly hostel near the Termini Train Station where we had access to a kitchen and made dinner a couple nights.The first day we saw the Coliseum (took pictures with gladiators), the Forum, and the Pantheon (where we made friends with a Canadian tour guide who gave us a free tour.) We learned that Queen Margherita is buried in the Pantheon. She was from Naples, the birthplace of pizza and Italians loved her so much they named the Italian flag-colored pizza after her, the Margherita. Also, the columns were brought from Egypt and the originals had to be trimmed down 30 ft because thy were sinking the barges. That evening we went to a little island in the middle of the Tiber River and happy-houred with Barbie paper cups, red wine and lemon Fanta.
On Monday Callie and I went to the Vatican Museum in Vatican City. It was awesome. I loved the Egyptian art and we spent a good 30 minutes or so with our necks craned in the Sistine Chapel. It is so colorful and perfect. There are nine scenes from the Book of Genesis on the ceiling and the Last Judgment covering one whole wall. Then we went to St. Peter1s Basilica which I also really loved. It is humongous. Inside are markings on the floor where other smaller churches would fit. There are massive angel statues high up that are 7 feet tall but seem so much smaller from the ground. It is also awesome because all of the frescoes are actually mosaics that you can take pictures of. We had sandwiches and pasta at a restaurant nearby, Miscellanea. That night I took us on Rick Steeves walking night tour that started at Campo de Fiori abd went past Trevi Fountain (where you toss coins and wish for a return trip to Rome), then to the Spanish Steps.

Venice was the best time ever. We met Shannon, a girl who used to work in the AC and at Sports Camp in Perdanone and spent the night with her. Her husband, Johnny is stationed at Aviano Air Base and they were sweet enough to let us stay with them. Their place is gorgeous--big and out in the country. The Italian Alps are just beyond their backyard! Shannon took us on a drive through the mountains up to a church, then to this awesome minty turquoise colored lake and then up to the very top where a resort usually is. From the top, you can look down through the clouds and see the Friuli Region. We also did our laundry at the base, shopped at the BX for American products (honey Chex Mix) and had a fried chicken lunch at Popeye's.
Our hotel in Venice was actually in Mestre--on the mainland and just a bus ride away from Venice. Our first night, we went on a gondola ride with Emiliano, the gondolier. He had a gorgeous voice and sang Italian love songs. He let me sing a song and I chose Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You." Callie cried. Emiliano and I obviously became best friends and (get ready) he let me wear his hat and drive the gondola!!! We met some of his Gondolier friends later that evening and all got drinks at a bar in Venice. The hilarious part was the next morning when we went to buy a gondola calendar at a souvenir shop and realized we had hung out with Mr. April the night before.
We spent all day exploring Venice--saw Piazza San Marco, took a ferry down the Grand Canal, had a great lunch of pizza and spaghetti, and went to a glass blowing demonstration. I love Italy. The whole time we were there, us girls just joked and laughed, had a bunch of pizza and at least two gelatos a day (pear and chocolate1s the best but I also liked rose and peach!)

Yamas!

I finished out the semester in Paris very well. The weather got beautiful and Paris really changes in the spring. We spent a lot of time in parks and one day at the Bois de Bologne a foresty area on the west of Paris where we rented a row boat and rowed around the little lake. I had a great last night with all of my friends at my favorite bar, Le Merle Moqueur and the next morning Jayda and I got on Easy Jet from Paris to Athens.
Athens was awesome. We stayed in a hostel near Omania Square and took the metro to the Acropolis. At the top of a hill overlooking the city--It was gorgeous up there. I loved the Parthenon and these statues of women on the side of the ruins. It was the greatest achievement in classical Greek art. From the top of the hill we looked down onto a theatre and we climbed up Mars Hill where Paul the Apostle supposedly read the Gospel. Jayda and I bought Gyros from a street vendor and just walked around the curvy stone streets. We also had baklava then went to the ancient Olympic stadium.
We made friends while touring and met them at the Hilton bar, Galaxy that night for wine. It was the most beautiful view. On the top floor of the Hilton, overlooking the city, and eye level with the Acropolis which is brilliantly lit at night. Lovely.
Next morning we caught the ferry to Santorini, aka my new favorite place. The island used to be a volcano and when it erupted, it collapsed into the ocean so now there is the volcano island in the middle with water all around. Then Santorini surrounds that with a caldera and sloping cliffs. It is known for its white buildings with blue roofed churches. We stayed in Hostel Anna on Paraissa Beach and met the most interesting people, including Australian girls who were backpacking and working their way through Europe "indefinitely" (and I thought a month was impressive!!)
We met up with 2 friends of Jayda's, Lisa and Laura, too. My favorite day was when we rented 4 wheelers to tour the island with. It allowed us to have our own schedule and see everything! We went to the Red Beach, the lighthouse, up to Ia, one of the major towns and walked around. I fell in love with the bright blue and white churches overlooking the Mediterranean. Jayda and I climbed down to this huge rock that used to have a castle built on top of it and watched the sunset.
The rest of the trip we spent on the beach or chillin in the capital, Fira. I even got some sun after gray Paris ;)
It was also reeeal cheap there and we got to try all sorts of new great foods--sesame round bread (mix between a sesame bagel and a pretzel), yogurt and honey and frappe coffees(breakfast treats), moussaka (layered potatoes, eggplant, tomatoe dish), stuffed vine leaves, souvlakakia (super flavorful meatballs), stuffed tomatoes...mmm. Great time and seriously enchanting. We met the nicest people ever--everyone went out of their way to help us and suggest things for us to do. (our waitress told us about Ammoudi Bay where at the restaurants you literally watch the fisherman bring in fresh fish from their boats and throw it on the grill, and the man who rented us the 4 wheelers was so grateful for our business he bought us drinks at a local bar.) I think it is the most beautiful place in the world and will post pictures soon. We took two overnight ferries and two trains and ... I am in Rome now! Loooving it. More to come bisous!
(oh I learned "yasas" (hello and goodbye), "yamas" (cheers), and kefi (fun) in Greek.
Greece was kefi kefi kefi all around.

Roxy's Visite

As her graduation present, Roxy got to come stay with me for a whole week! Madame fixed up the guest room for her and it was during my spring break so I was able to spend all day hanging out with my sister!
She arrived on Sunday morning and took the RER train and metro from the airport (all by herself wootwoot) to my house. Madame made us a really great lunch--French style chicken and potatoes, endives, camembert and bread. Roxy understood a lot of Madam's French and I played translator for a lot of it. It was a looovely day so we walked through Rue Mouffetard to the Pantheon. We sat at a little café outside facing the sidewalk, had kir cassis (black currant) and people watched. Then we walked down to Notre Dame and into the Marais. At Place des Vosges there were a bunch of people picnicking and laying in the grass so we grabbed a spot and Roxy took a nap.
That night, my friend Jackie's sister got us VIP tickets to see the American, We Are Scientists. It was Nouveau Casion off rue Oberkampf. They have more of a fan base in Europe and have been touring here for months. The show was awesome and we hung around after and met some of the band members. We grabbed really yummy crepes afterwards then headed to the Fifth Bar for my friend Audrey's 21st birthday party

Monday morning I let Roxy sleep in and then we headed to Père Lachaise, the famous cemetary, for the afternoon. It was raining when we got there so we ducked into a crepe restaurant to wait it out and have our 2nd crepe of the trip. Roxy reeally enjoyed the cemetary (pleasantly pleased me) and we spent a good couple of hours just strolling. It's a lot cooler than it sounds--really big with beautiful trees and flowers. We saw the famous graves-Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Chopin...and admired the simple beauty of others. Then we caught the Metro to the tip top of the city at Porte de la Chappelle to go to the boulangerie that recently won the award "Best Baguette of Paris, 2008." The boulangerie, Le Duc de la Chappelle, was adorable and we took our baguette to Montmartre to have a picnic at Sacre Couer. Paired with some camembert and red wine, the best baguette in Paris was, I'm not gonna lie, prettty decent. We saw the sunset from the top of Montmartre hill and ate our French picnic on a bench. It was so nice and the rain stopped just in time for the sunset. Then we met my friend Eva at a bar, Le Foroum, that is right off the main drag in Montmartre. They have a chandelier made of wine bottles and a really young French crowd. We had some wine and just talked.

Tuesday we were very ambitious and woke up early. We went to la Madeleine church--beautiful inside and Roxy lit a candle. Then to the Wine Museum which was really cool--learned about the making of wine and saw the old farming equipment and stuff. We even got to try a little wine:) Then we went to l'As de Falafel in the Marais mmm. Roxy liked falafel!! big success. We even sat next to 2 Orthodox Jew young men who discussed their politics with us. After lunch, we went on a walking tour lead by yours truly. We saw the English bookstore Shakespeare and Co., Simone de Beauvoir's café--Café du Flore, Hemingway's pub--Brasserie Lipp and Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas' old apartment at 27 rue du Fleurus. We visited our 4th café of the trip on the way home. We made a big salad with sautéed eggplant and an egg over easy for dinner.

Wednesday we went to the Marie Antoinette exhibition at the Grand Palais. The building, like the Eiffel Tour, was built for the 1900 Paris Exhibition. The exhibit was really interesting. There were tons of paintings and sculptures of her and a letter she had written to her mother Maria Theresa explaining that she had to keep hiring different painters because none of the paintings looked like her. The sculptures, her ceramic tea sets and all the beautiful furniture were awesome too. I was also surprised to learn that she really liked hunting. Then we crossed the street to the Petit Palais and saw the Museum of Fine Arts there. I really liked this one life size sculpture of Adam and Eve carrying Abel after he's been murdered. Very interesting. We had cheese sandwiches on the Champs-Elysées then went to the Grand Mosque of Paris and had mint tea in the tea room. The Mosque is gorgeous--in Moroccan style architecture--all white with turquoise tiles. Then we walked through Jardin des Plantes--beautiful in bloom!! Roxy made us chicken curry for dinner that night:)

Thursday (May 1) was apparently Labor Day in France. So everything was clooosed. So we just walked around the city all day--past the Eiffel Tour, along the Seine and through the Luxembourg Gardens were we saw a photo exhibit of really interesting and disturbing photos from Le Figaro-a newspaper in Paris. We had sandwiches and wine at Neo Café in St-Germain-des-Pres then headed home. That night we met my friend Sacha and two guys, Didier and Samuel at Le Merle Moquer (rum bar by my house). We got a tray of all the flavors of rum to try and danced to French music that everyone knew the words too. Hilarious.

Friday last day:( We had fresh croissants for breakfast and took the Metro to Montmartre to the Erotic Museum. ehhem. I do not suggest it. But it was cool to see pictures from the 1920's of brothels and cabaret girls. Then we walked up to the Moulin Rouge. That afternoon we spent in Luxembourg again--sitting on a bench with a cheese sandwich just people watching and getting hit on by des drageurs, pick up artists. We had the best fondue dinner! At La Grange in the 5th arrondissement. Then caught the Metro to La Comedie Francaise for "Penthesilee," a Greek tragedy about the Amazonian queen. Oh man the actors were incredible. The show was great--even though we didn't understand a lot of the plot due to the whole French thing. It was really nice though..

Saturday morning I rode the RER to the airport because she took home a big suitcase for me. It was really sad to say goodbye but we had such a great week together and I was sooo happy to see her. It'll only be another 5 weeks before we're reunited again.

That afternoon, I met Audrey, Amy, Hayley and Sarah under the Eiffel Tour for a cheese and bread picnic. We wore berets...it was awesome.

Mes Etudes

So I have been doing a lot of very interesting school work lately and thought I would share that for a change:)

In my Muslim Presence in Europe class, we had a discussion/debate on the headscarf law in France. Similar to Turkey's, since 2004 France has outlawed the wearing of ostentatious religious symbols in public schools. France has a strong tradition of "laicité" (secularism) and also a history of conflicts between "la Republique" and integrating Muslims. I didn't necessarily take a side on the debate, but I do have an opinion on the law. It seems to me that the problems France has with integration and the racism Muslims experience won't be solved by making little girls take off their scarves. Obviously in some cases, these girls were pressured into wearing the scarves by authoritative male figures...but for the most part they chose to wear them themselves. As a sign of piety and modesty. Those in charge of creating the law, members of the Stasi Commission surprisingly never actually interviewed a Muslim schoolgirl.

I can understand the state's feeling that SOMETHING needed to be done. There was an increase in violence in the "cités" (poor urban towns surrounding big cities where most minorities live) and teachers felt their authority was being undermined by the girls (in gym class where they refused to participate). I also agree that France has major problems assimilating its minorities into French culture. There is an idea of what it means to be French and most times that includes being white. Colonialism has lead to big societal problems and all of these things should be addressed by the government. I read the book, "Why the French Don't Like Headscarves" and it explained that many women viewed the wearing of the "voile" or "foullard" as a hostile act. It also noted the girls explained their choice to wear the scarf as a result of being born and raised in France. They said la Republique provided them with institutions and freedom to learn Arabic more about Islam. Interesting also is the fact that most first-generation immigrant women do not wear the scarves, au contraire, their daughters and grand-daughters who were born in France and rose through the public school system do.

All in all, I find the subject very interesting and was really excited to learn so much about it.

In my Art-History class I gave a presentation on Gertrude and her brother Leo Stein and their contribution to the works and lives of Picasso and Matisse. It was cool because Gertrude and Leo after Picasso's first cubist masterpiece, "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," were so divided on their views of Cubism, separated their art collection and Leo moved out. Also, it was interesting to compare Gertrude's writing at the time she was so close to Picasso with his painting. They both had Cubist collage styles!

And in my French conversation class I read my first full French novel, "Bonjour Tristesse" by Francoise Sagan! I gave a 30 minute presentation (en francais!) over the novel and the author's life. Sagan failed out of the Sorbonne after her first year and that summer wrote the novel! She was only 18 and the English version made the New York Time's Bestseller list! The book was really good but sad (hence the title which translates into "Hello Sadness").

Champagne Tasting in Reims

We took a bus to Reims on April 5th and went to the Mumm champagne museum and store. There was a video and tour of the museum. It was really cool to learn about the Mumm family who owns 540 acres of vineyards in the Champagne region. They have three grapes: Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, black grapes, and Chardonnay, a white grape, and the taste of champagne comes from the combination of them. Isn't that interesting? The champagne was really good--we tasted their classic Cordon Rouge. "You can get a whole bunch of Mumm's."

We also had a lovely lunch and then saw the Notre-Dame de Reims was very similar to the one in Paris--same style of architecture, built in the 1200's and our tour guide said they did some of the French kings' coronations here. The tour guide and my French prof, Lucie got into this sarcastic argument because the tour guide was making fun of Lucie's Parisian accent.

Sunday, my friend Jon came to town. Poor guy got in a fight at the Duplex and had a huge gash across his nose. We decided he should photoshop it out of his pics of Paris before showing his mom... He, Brendan and I went to the Eiffel Tour with some bread and cheese and sat on a park bench. It just happened to be the coldest weekend in Paris yet and began snowing on us and making our baguette soggy BUT the view made up for it! In the fountains near the tour there appeared to be some sort of a protest--the water was dyed red and fake human bodies were floating in it.

On Monday I played tour guide for Jon and as we were walking down the Champs-Elysées, we were blocked from the Arc de Triomphe by Chinese Nationalists and pro-Tibet supporters who lined the street in anticipation of the Olympic torch run! We got to see both the carrier of the torch--a Chinese fencer in a wheelchair and the demonstrators! There was chanting, Chinese and Tibetan flags, huge banners hung from the windows with the Olympic rings composed up of handcuffs, and a fight even broke out! What's going on with the Olympics is so interesting to me and I am really glad there are so many defending Tibet. I can't understand the Chinese nationalists view, though.

Nîmes

My program went to Nîmes in the south of France for the weekend. We took a train from Paris and immediately put on our shades when we got there;) We were all so happy to be in a warm climate--people were wearing sun-dresses and flip-flops! We had a great lunch the first day and then met up with a tour guide to see the coliseum, Arènes, e climbed to the top and learned about the gladiators and wild animals that used to battle there. They also used to have bullfights there. It's crazy to me that the bulls actually die at the end of the fights! (even in modern-day fights)
We went to the center of the village and just as we walked past this church there were wedding bells and we saw the newlyweds coming out of the church:) The Roman architecture of the town was beautiful.
That night at dinner we had foie gras (i know, i know) and afterwards went to a bar called Victor Hugo.
Sunday morning we went to the aqueduct nearby, Pont du Gard. It's settled in the hills and it was great to be outside climbing on trees and hiking around. (Mom, you'll be happy to hear I did a little meditation while we were up in the hills surrounded by nature.) Then we had this great lunch salmon cakes and a beef dish (turned out to be bull...?) in a big white tent with colored paper lanterns and a great view of the river and mountains. It was incredible.
On our way back to Nîmes, we stopped at the Haribo museum--they make gummy bears--and toured around there, got some tasters etc. I also stopped in a little shop that sold souvenirs and made their own honey and jams. They had orange and chestnut wines!
My roommates in the hotel (Amy, Audrey and Hayley) were really funny and each night people came over to our room and we all stayed up laughing, telling stories and hanging out till late.

Un super séjour avec ma famille!

My parents got into Paris on Thursday morning but because I had class I couldn't meet up with them until 5 that evening. I also met Eren and Lauren at the Opera House to see them once more before they left. We started with wine, cheese and bread at the hotel, then we went to a cute fondue restaurant nearby! For some reason I was the only one who actually ordered fondue, but everyone tried a little. J’étais trés heureuse de voir ma famille. They were all so cute at their French attempts and looking to me to communicate to the waiter.
Friday morning I went to breakfast with Scott, Kristen and Brendan before my afternoon classes. Straight after class I hurried to my parents hotel for another wine and cheese happy hour (we enjoyed a good many of these). Tom had discovered the Monoprix (think a nicer Wal-Mart slash Target--with fresh breads and super cheap Bordeaux wines) and he kept a good stock of treats for us. My parents, Di and Tom were sooo sweet and took Scott, Kristen and Brendan out to a fancy pants dinner! We went up to Montmartre (everyone falling inline behind me as we zig zagged through the Metro stations and had to change trains 3 times! It was cool to show them around--I felt like such a chic Parisian) and went to a fabulous seafood restaurant. Di finally got some escargot and we all shared big trays of shellfish. Fun stories and really cool for me to introduce my friends to the fam! Us kids hung out at a bar in Montmartre for Kristen and Scott's last night.
Saturday morning I met the fam at their hotel and we went for a walk in the Jardin du Luxembourg. Di went for a run, Tom, KC and Brooke walked to the Marais. My parents and I took a stroll down St-Michel to see the famous fountain. It is of St-Michel who is the protector of France, slaying a dragon. It is also right in the middle of the Latin Quarter near the Sorbonne. It started to downpour as we walked though, so we stopped in a little café for some soupe d'oignon (French onion soup. They just call it onion soup here) and café au lait. Unfortunately my dad wasn't feeling well (the whole trip:( ! ) So he went back, Di, my mom and I did a little shopping and Di bought the most adorable coat. It is a periwinkle/gray/blue longish trench style but has 3/4 length sleeves with a bit of a ruffle. She also got a matching scarf! So chic. That night I got to take KC and Brooke out for a little while and introduced them to some of my friends:)
Sunday=Happy Easter in Paris! Most unconventional Easter ever! We went to the Musée d'Orsay (the Impressionist painters) and I had a great time explaining the paintings I have learned in my Art History class. They really enjoyed the Manets and Degas. I think Tom liked the pointillism paintings. Afterward, we had "Easter Brunch" at a falafel restaurant in the Jewish district (the Marais). The place was bumpin (as always on Sundays) and we got a table for 7 right away! The waiters (ours especially) were fun and we all marveled at their teamwork. One would put something in the microwave and another would come up just in time to grab it. They also seemed about a minute from colliding into each other and spilling falafel balls and french fries (just plain frites here ;) ) everywhere. We were beat after that and just hung out at the hotel. I met Audrey at a café for some vin chaud that evening.
The Monday after Easter in Paris (and probably all of France) the city shuts down. Besides tourist attractions and a few stores, nothing is open. We were lucky to go to le Louvre! Oh man it was packed. I can't imagine what the actual "season" will be like because man it was crazy in there. Especially the Mona Lisa room (salle de la Jaconde) which is pretty overrated but definitely a must-see. I really enjoyed the Egyptian art and the Persian rooms were something I didn't think I would be into but thought were soo cool! My parents really liked the Flemish paintings I think.
Afterwards we had pizza at a place off Chatelet (short walk from le Louvre) and did a little shopping at H&M (huuuge European clothing store that has recently opened chains in the U.S.)
That evening I needed to work on schoolwork (yes, it's true, I do attend classes in Paris!) so the whole gang went with me to a nearby café. Les Patios was just off the Place de la Sorbonne and there was this great little bluesy swingy jazzy singer and her trio in there! I wrote a poem in French and had some wine with my loves. It was such a great ambiance--low lighting and beautiful songs. The singer was awesome (cute and little) and obvi my family was a great add to the evening.
Tuesday I had class all day! boooo. So I only got to meet the fam for a quick lunch on their way to exploring the Latin Quarter. That evening we did a really nice dinner at Bouillon Racine (a Belgian restaurant near the hotel) that Eemaw and Eepaw had been to when they were here :) The food was awesome (I had duck mmm think I can get enough while I'm here?) and once again the service was funny (it was "pas possible" for us to sit upstairs)
Wednesday the gang went to Versailles and I worked on a midterm paper. That evening Momma and Dad got to meet Madame! H I L A R I O U S. Like I've mentioned, she doesn't speak a word of English. And as you can guess, my parents are a little rusty on their French (although Mom did try to throw in some Spanish words here and there). Madame was wonderful. She brought out little sandwiches, cookies, cakes and olives and different kinds of wine to choose from. Through my translating, they discovered a shared love of Jazz! Madame brought out a stack of all her jazz cd's and put one on for us! The parents loved this. She told them I was a hard worker and pleasant to have:)
This was their last night (we thought) in Paris so we went back to the hotel to say goodbye to Di, Tom, KC and Brooke.
(American Airlines failed to inspect their planes so my parents got to stay one more night in Paris! I spent the night with them at their airport hotel! Not bad!)