Update Seven: Home!!!

So, I have been home for five days now, and haven't done too much! I am sitting in my room, surrounded by piles of clothes and various items, and am not looking forward to cleaning it up. After ten months with a rather limited wardrobe, and then seven weeks with a very tiny one, I was completely horrified at how much clothing I have at home! I didn't even remember owning half of it, so I'm donating a whole bunch of stuff. In trying to get organized, I am having trouble figuring out what on earth I was thinking a year ago, like why I decided to hide extra prescriptions in an obscure drawer. There are a lot of things I don't even remember having, and many things I remember that I have yet to locate. It's going to be interesting getting settled back in...

But the biggest things on my agenda right now are getting caught up with everyone, and finding a job! So far I have only seen Joe briefly, then Nana last night, and have emailed some people. As far as the job hunt goes, I've been searching online but I think I need to work my resume a bit more before actually sending it someone important. Any ideas for jobs that don't totally suck would be appreciated. In the meantime I have been procrastinating by reading, making more of a mess of my room, and playing Guitar Hero with Adam. And over-analyzing everything as usual, such as coming up with "official data" from my trip with Kelly:

*THE NUMBERS*
Days on the road: 51
Cities visited: 19
Additional day-trips: 8
Bird incidents: 2
Thefts: 1
Languages: 7
Books read: 12
Pounds lost: 5 (hurrah!)
Pictures taken: ~2100
---------------------------------
Total weeks away from home: 44
Total European cities visited: 30

So yes, I definitely have too much free time on my hands. But I am actually going on another trip to NYC next weekend... so that's "something to do", right? I'm really excited-- I'm meeting Ryan, and his friend from Ottawa will be there for the beginning. Then Sabine, my Munich-friend from Nancy, will be there for the end! And she is also coming to Boston the next week, so we may have a mini-reunion of Nancy assistants on our hands. My roommate, Brady, is planning to come if he isn't accepted to grad school, and two other assistants, Courtney and Angela, are from MA and will hopefully both be around before leaving for grad school themselves. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone! I met so many great people this year, and it's sad we're so spread out all over the world. At least there is the internet!

Anyways, I should really see to this impending disaster that is my room. I haven't decided what to do about the blog yet-- I don't really need to keep everyone posted on my less-exciting, back-to-normal life. But who knows, maybe I will start writing to complain about the weather or whatever new job I get? We'll have to see what happens next!

A la prochaine,
Stephanie

Update Six: Galway, Dublin

This one is coming to you from the sky, somewhere above the Atlantic! We are currently en route to Philadelphia, which is a seven and a half hour flight. I fell asleep before we even took off, but haven't been able to doze off at all since then. I can't even believe that I am on a plane home! Ireland was an incredible ending to the trip, though. Galway was very small and charming-- the first full day there, we really just walked all over the place and shopped all day. We walked along the bay, and cut back to town through "Claddagh Village", which was once a big fishing neighborhood. I had an Irish brunch of scrambled eggs, toast, baked beans, tomatoes, and filtered coffee. The traditional version also comes with sausages and black and white "pudding" (some kind of scary-looking meat thing). Afterwards, we got a lot of souvenirs, and I bought another skirt. Since the first one wasn't really a skirt to begin with, it hasn't been working out to well. We'll see how it goes once it meets the sewing machine.

That night, we tried to do laundry, which didn't work out so well for Kelly. Apparently the dryer decided to stop working right after I finished using it (not my fault, I swear!). Problem was, we found Kelly's wet laundry on top, and thus thought some jerk just took it out. So by the time we realized, it was like 2 am. And we couldn't sleep in, because we had booked a tour for the next day! Somehow we managed to stay awake for it, although I almost dozed a bit on the bus. We had an amazing guide/driver, Desmond, an older Irishman who said everything at least twice. ("There's a road that leads to it, and I'm gonna take it. Ladies and gentlemen, I am taking it...") The main stop was at the Cliffs of Moher, which were really striking. Along the way, though, we also saw an ancient tomb, a "fairy ring", the ruins of abbeys and castles, and the distinct landscape of the Burren area (LOTS of rocks). It was quite a full day, so we just packed and finished drying Kelly's laundry that night.

Thursday we started at the Museum of Galway City, which had an exhibit on JFK, and a lot about the city's history of fishing and war. Then we were off to Dublin, where our very nice hotel turned out to be quite outside the city. We decided to stay at the hotel for dinner, which had really terrible service and food, and then watched "Just Friends" on TV. Friday we headed into Dublin, and bought tickets for a hop-on hop-off bus tour. We did the whole hour and a half circuit, and then went to the Writer's Museum. There is a lot of literary tradition there, with statues of James Joyce and Oscar Wilde in the parks, and so many famous authors. The museum wasn't too great though, I just kept yawning and getting that over-heated nausea feeling. So we spent the rest of the day outside, visiting the Trinity College campus, and a bunch of parks and squares. Saturday was a really full day, which started early at the Museum of Archeology, then onto St. Patrick's Cathedral. Next, we took a tour of the Jameson Distillery, where they told us all about how their whiskey is made, and of course, we had a free sample. We then rushed over to Dublin Castle for the last tour of the day. It isn't so much a castle as a modest government palace, and it's where foreign diplomats used to stay (including Bill Clinton and Margaret Thatcher, not together though!). Some of the rooms were like a smaller-scale Versailles, which was surprising since the outside wasn't very elaborate.

That night, we had dinner in the Temple Bar neighborhood, which was very, um... lively. Lots of crazy street performers, many drunk people, and a whole bunch of bachelorette parties. Some groups wore cocktail dresses, but one group was dressed as chickens, and another like cowgirls (with a bride in a cow costume). So it was very entertaining night out! The next morning we went back downtown to visit the Kilmainham Jail, where many people were imprisoned in the fight for Irish independence. So we were happy that we got to learn a lot more about the country's history there, too. The rest of the day was spent in our hotel, packing up for our flight! The hotel did have an indoor pool and spa area, so I made good use of that for a few hours. For dinner, we got Domino's pizza (yes, I know), and watched the Travolta film, "The General's Daughter", and fell asleep.

Monday morning, we left around 11 am for Dublin Airport, and the whole day went relatively well. Airport layouts are just terrible, though! Dublin had a bunch of flights leaving from the same few gates, with everyone crammed in a small area. And we had a layover in Philadelphia, where we had to collect our baggage, walk down a hallway, and wait in line to give it back to them. Plus, we were no longer in a secure area, so we had to go through the security again. But at least the flights went smoothly. My parents came to get us at Logan, and then on the way home, we accidentally entered the Ted Williams Tunnel, for some added fun. It is so nice to be home, but a bit strange, as well. After 10 months away, I feel like I am looking at everything from a fresh perspective, though I am sure that will wear off quickly. Looking forward to seeing you all very soon!

Update Five: Barcelona, London, Manchester

Last I left off, we were at the fourth of July! Kelly and I were too exhausted after the train ride to make the 30 minute trek to the city, so we ate at the university restaurant that night. The next day, it was straight to the tourist office for information, and straight to a bench in the square to get organized. And THAT is when my purse got stolen!

I hate having the map out constantly like a tourist, so we try to study it hard at the very beginning. We were doing this when some guy came up to our left, next to Kelly, and asked us if we spoke Spanish, then Catalan, French (I lied), or English. We finally said yes, but he just kept asking about Spanish again, pointing at some sheet of paper, and then awkwardly left. We just thought he was an idiot, until maybe 3 minutes later when I had a sudden thought and looked around me. So, we THINK someone else came up on my right while he was distracting us. I couldn't believe it! The police station is right underneath the square, so we went and filled out a police report and cancelled all my cards. The woman from Visa actually went off her little script and was very sweet, as was Kelly who stayed with me and bought me a Kit Kat. You just don't realize how much you carry in one stupid bag until you have to write it all out and add up the cost. I had my camera, phone, mp3 player, wallet, and prescription sunglasses, not to mention my passport! (I didn't want to leave anything in our room, in case someone took it. Ha!) So, next we tried the U.S. Embassy which is only open M-F 9am-1pm, and not if it's an American OR Spanish holiday. So I had to wait until Monday, and after a "calming" and cheap lunch at McDonald's, we just kept going with the day.

I actually really enjoyed the whole feel of Barcelona except for, you know, the bastards I cursed all weekend. There are lots of shops near Place Catalunya, the plaza we were in when everything went down. Kelly insisted I get a new purse, and then I decided to replace my digital camera since we still had five cities left. After all that was settled, we walked down La Rambla, a busy street filled with street performers and vendors (there had chipmunks for sale!). At the end you reach the water and a giant pole with Christopher Columbus on top. We again dunked our feet, only this time in the ocean where we could actually see fish! We took the metro to La Sagrada Familia, a giant crazy unfinished church. It is designed by Antoni Gaudi, who has a bunch of buildings in Barcelona that are all very curvy and abnormal and nature-inspired. We tried to walk to another of his buildings, but couldn't find it. I blame the map and/or stress.

The next day was much better! We went straight to the National Museum of Catalunyan Art, and the Catalunya History Museum (both free!). The second one had tons of interactive exhibits an cool displays, and also an exhibit on women's rights. Lunch was across the street in a rather nice restaurant for paella, a classic Spanish rice dish. After we went to see the also crazily-designed Music Hall and Casa Batllo. Lastly, we sprung for a tour of Gaudi's La Pedrera, an apartment complex with no straight lines at all. The colors and curves were incredible, and the roof was absolute madness. You will all have to see the pictures later. Monday morning, we headed straight for the Embassy. I was fifth or sixth in line at 8:50 am, so I was not alone. Many people had missed their cruises and planes, so I felt much better about my situation. It was like group therapy! We all swapped stories, and there was one guy whose man-bag was stolen in the same place about 30 minutes before me. He said they had searched some dumpsters and found a whole bunch of slashed bags, it is just unbelievable. It only took about an hour to get my temporary replacement passport, and the rest of the day was spent relaxing and emailing and preparing for our flight the next day.

Tuesday our plane arrived in London around noon, and it was instantly back to the cool drizzly weather. We stayed in the "Clink Hostel" converted from a former courthouse. The first day we sifted through all the tourist info, and went to Covent Garden for dinner after watching some crazy magician guy. The next day we took a tour of Shakespeare's Globe, and the Tate Modern where we had a really artsy unsatisfying lunch. We shopped a bit, and I looked for a new notebook in two stores that turned out to be a radical communist shop and a sex shop (I stuck with the first one). Thursday we started out at Westminster Abbey, then walked over to Buckingham Palace and saw bits of the changing of the guard. From there, we walked to Trafalgar Square and had lunch at Friday's. Due to rain, we decided to go to Kensington Palace. They had exhibits on the debutantes of the fifties, the royal apartments, and some of Diana's dresses. We walked to some of the other famous squares and then ate at the hostel. Our last day, we went to the Tower of London where I relearned everything I supposedly took in the first time, before grabbing our train.

Next stop was Manchester, being as it was en route to Ireland. That's also where all Pamela and my old drinking buddies in Nancy were from, and Charlie graciously offered to let us stay in his spare bedroom, which was a nice incentive. The first night we had salad with potatoes and three English cheeses at Charlie's and just watched TV. The next day he showed us around Manchester, where there was a festival where people decided to act crazy in the streets. We also went to the Museum of Science and Industry with the exhibit Body Worlds. There is a new technique for preserving human cadavers by "plastination" so you can see all the different parts of actual bodies. Kind of strange, but really fascinating. After another dinner in, we went to two pubs and met Charlie's brother and two other friends. They had a classic rock cover band playing, and it was a really good time.

Sunday we had a very lazy morning due to aforementioned pubs, and then drove out to the Lake District. We got scones with real clotted cream for lunch, and then drove on Kirkstone Pass, a small road up a mountain. Then at Lake Windermere we climbed a trail up a big hill for a nice view of the area. It was a lot of driving, so we just had a simple dinner and watched Pulp Fiction. The next morning we were heading all the way to western Ireland, so there wasn't time for much else. Charlie drove us two and a half hours to the ferry, which was really nice but 20 minutes late, making us miss our train. We finally got to Galway at 7:30 pm, and hung around the hostel where I finished my eleventh book of the trip! We are actually on to Dublin tomorrow, but I will save all the fun from Galway for my next update. Can't believe we fly home on Monday! I'll have to write my last vacation update on the plane. See you all very soon....

Update Four: Cinque Terre, Nice, Avignon

Hello! There just two and a half weeks left until I'm back home! I can't believe how fast it has been going. Only three countries left... after Rome, we made one last stop in Italy, in Cinque Terre. It's really five villages along the Italian coast, and we stayed in the smallest one, Riomaggiore. The houses in the village are all built into the hills, so it's tough walking. The "rooms" of our hostel actually had their own addresses, and we had to walk up so many steps to get there, it was unbelievable! It was the best hostel in terms of the five other people staying with us, but the place itself was pretty terrible. We met a girl from New York who said she went to school "near Boston", and it turned out she went to Harvard. Then the one guy in the room was from Quebec, and it was really hard to understand him and his friends in French! I couldn't believe how different it sounded. That first night, we kind of panicked at the smallness of the village, so we took the train 15 minutes back to the bigger city of La Spezia. We needed to buy beach towels, so we shopped a bit and I ended up buying a flowy white skirt (well, it was a dress, but I cut it in half. The top was horrible!). Kelly bought two skirts, so really it's all her fault.

So the next day, wore my skirt to the beach in the largest village, Monterrosso. The beaches here are all rocks, so it kind of hurts your feet. It was scorching hot again, but so beautiful. We didn't get back to the room until about 1 pm, and we freshened up for the rest of the day. There are "walking trails" between each of the villages, and the one from our village to Manarola is called the "Via d'Amore". It is supposedly the most beautiful, with a tunnel that has love scenes painted along it. While it did have gorgeous views of the ocean and village, it was just a paved cliff-side path, more of a covered hallway with comic book like paintings covered in graffiti. We also did the next trail to Corniglia, which was the same distance but pretty intense. It was just a dirt path filled with rocks and holes and roots, all along the rock cliff. There was even a small bridge, and I had flashbacks of being paralyzed in hysterical, nervous laughter in Quebec on the bridge high above the gorge. I kept it together this time, though. After that, we were disgusting again, so we got ice cream and took the train back. We made gnocchi in tomato sauce with fried onions and red pepper, making all our roommates jealous. The next morning, we left for France again, and were on a terrible train with no air-conditioning! I can't even tell you how happy I was to be done with Italian trains. They were always late, usually by 20 minutes, and rarely comfortable.

Our next stop was Nice, along the Cote d'Azur (AKA the French Riviera!). We actually didn't spend much time in Nice, though, as we really wanted to go to Antibes. We just did laundry the first night, and tried in vain to connect to the WIFI at both our hotel and McDonald's. The next morning we went straight to the beach in Antibes, which had sand where you sat, but definitely all rocks otherwise. Kelly actually burned quite a bit, even though it was less hot than Italy, and my back stung a little. After the beach, we walked all along the wall that follows the shoreline above the beach. Then we got quiche and guzzled water from a café that had a resident cat. We made sure to stroll through the downtown area on our way back to the train station. I tried to discreetly take a picture of a guy hand-writing the day's menu in chalk, but he saw me and it was very awkward. He still posed for the picture, though! Back in Nice that evening, we had dinner at "Woody's Diner and Tex-Mex Burger". They brought us a pitcher of water before we asked, and the guy came over apologizing because he forgot to bring us a cup filled to the top with ice cubes. I think that was Kelly's happiest moment so far! She had mostly-normal BBQ chicken, and I got enchiladas that were delicious, despite the unusual addition of goat cheese! We both had very weak wine, and a dessert, and at the end they brought us two shot glasses with a sample of their margaritas (I think they wanted us to order more alcohol!). We went to bed very satisfied, and woke up early the next morning for a walk around Nice. We went down to the beach, and walked along the main market street selling fresh foods, regional specialties, and flowers. We took pictures at Place Messina, which is basically a giant fountain in a rotary, and then had to catch our next train.

We left that day at 10:30 to go to Avignon, in the region of Provence. It was wonderful to ride the TGV again! We got a taxi to the hotel since Kelly's sunburn was killing her shoulders, and then it took us an hour and a half to get downtown from there. It's not that far, but we got on the bus in the wrong direction and didn't notice for a while. We had some fruit and snacks in a cute little park for lunch, but then a bird pooped on Kelly! We were kind of stunned for a minute, and she had to rinse off her shirt, but thankfully that's really all it hit. We got some pamphlets at the tourist office, and then went straight back to the hotel. After changing, we got crepes at a restaurant nearby, because the buses in Avignon stop running at 7:30 pm! It's ridiculous! There isn't much near us, either. We actually bought the "Man on Fire" DVD at a market and watched it to kill time.

Wednesday we strolled around the downtown area of Avignon a bit, past lots of shops and restaurants, to St. Benezet Bridge. This is also known as the "Pont d'Avignon" and there is a nursery rhyme type song about dancing on the bridge that has made it famous. It was built in the 13^th century, but damaged by the river and battles, so they stopped repairing a few hundred years ago. So it just ends partway across the river! That afternoon we had booked a five and a half hour tour out into the countryside. I think this is one of the best things we've done so far, and definitely worth the 30 euros. The tour was sixteen people, and we had a nice air-conditioned bus with a tour guide from New Jersey, and a French bus driver named Michel who was hysterical. We saw two "perched" villages, which were on hilltops to better defend the city. The first was Roussillon, where the houses are all red, orange, and yellow after the colors of the ochre soil. Next they drove us up in the mountains to a beautiful lavender field for pictures. Everything smelled wonderful, but there were millions of bees everywhere which freaked me out a little. Afterwards we saw the second village, Gordes, built entirely from dry stone, which they explained uses no mortar or anything, just stacked rocks. These villages have requirements that people build in the traditional style, in order to keep their official titles as "most charming villages in France." Last we went to the Lavender Museum, which explained the differences between pure lavender and lavandine, the distillation process, and its many uses. The shop was too expensive, so we just smelled everything until it became overwhelming.

Our last day in Avignon was spent wrapping things up. I spent a long time being annoyed at the post office, and then again at the pharmacy. I forgot about how much I love this aspect of France. We did do some shopping and got postcards, and then spent a bunch of time trying to get back to the hotel, since the buses seemed to be having issues. We bought food at the grocery store for dinner (I had bread and 6 types of cheese, and Kelly basically ate a whole chicken), and we watched more House while we wrote out postcards. Then Friday, our big Fourth of July plans were to travel to Spain! It took around eight hours from Avignon to Barcelona, and then almost an hour to navigate to our room. We will be staying in a dorm apartment at one of the universities here, where there is a kitchenette, 2 restaurants, laundry, internet, and a pool! We will be here for four nights before our flight to London. Update soon!

Update Three: Venice, Florence, Rome

After leaving Salzburg, Kelly and I experienced quite a few drastic changes as we headed into Italy. First, it is incredibly hot here, which is a nice change from the chilly, overcast, constant-threat-of-rain weather we had before. We realized we were in trouble, though, the second we stepped off the train in Venice and started sweating. We took a bus where the driver went a million miles an hour around the turns, and arrived at the campground we had booked outside the city. Our room was one half of a small tin cabin-- quite the contrast from our 3-star hotel, but for 15 Euro per night each, the place was pretty nice. There had a bar, a restaurant, a pizzeria, and convenience store, but it was very buggy and basically for partiers. Very conveniently, there was a boat that left right from the camp over to Venice, so we did that on all three days. The first afternoon we rested a bit after our long train ride, and took an evening boat into Venice. We strolled around a bit to get our bearings, and stopped for dinner in a small restaurant. We were seated next to an Australian couple, who made small talk with us for a minute, but then we ended up talking throughout dinner. We found out that Ray and Helena had a 25-year old daughter who just got married and is living in Dubai for a few years. They gave us a million travel tips, advised us on our careers (that was interesting!), and bought us each an Italian drink (a Limoncello and a Monte Negro). When we went to pay our bill, they stole it off our table and paid it for us! We were a bit stunned and didn't quite know how to thank them, but I think all of us were happy to just have some normal conversation in English. People our own age have been annoying us quite a bit over the trip.


Case in point: when we returned to the camp, we met the two Australian guys who were staying in the other half of our cabin. They were very friendly, but also turned out to be very loud and generally inconsiderate. We didn't sleep much at all, because it was always either them banging around, or a family having dinner until midnight, or another family having a boisterous early breakfast... but aside from the housing, Venice was amazing. It is completely jammed with tourists, but it is just too beautiful. The first full day, we started at Basilica San Marco, which is absolutely breathtaking. There are mosaics over the entire ceiling and walls, surrounded by millions of tiny gold tiles that glimmer in the light. I can't even really describe it, it was overwhelming. We went up to the gallery to see the ceilings up close, and they had nice exhibits on the construction and artwork of the church. Then we had delicious pizza for lunch, and hopped on a boat to the other islands. First was Murano, famous for its glass. We got to see a glass blowing demonstration, where the guy made a horse in lightning speed, and a bunch of round ornaments while smoking a cigarette. Then we saw Burano, which is famous for lace-making, but also has brightly colored houses with everyone's laundry blowing in the wind. We gawked in all the shop windows before heading back to camp for dinner and a drink.


Our third day in Venice was more leisurely, though we did go to the top of the bell tower by the Basilica (after waiting in line in the beating-hot sun), and we went to the Accademia Museum, filled with works from many famous Venetian artists. Otherwise we just shopped for souvenirs, stared at all the beautiful masks for Carnavale and theatre, and then did some laundry back at the camp. The next morning we took the train to Florence, and met Giuseppe, our very friendly Brazilian hotel-manager-guy. We then realized that on Sunday and Monday, our only two days here, almost everything is closed. So we made sure to get to the Accademia here, where Michelangelo's "David" lives. The sculpture really was impressive, and huge! After we went to the San Marco Museum, which had rooms where monks used to live and lots of paintings of the crucifixion. Monday we saw the Duomo, which has a multi-colored marbled exterior that was very pretty, and walked around. We went through the Piazza della Republica and della Signoria, and the 13th century bridge, the "Ponte Vecchio". The bridge itself is unimpressive, except for its age, but it has a bunch of jewelry shops that hang off of it over the river. The heat had really gotten to us, though, so we decided to rest for the afternoon and get ready for Rome!


Once we got settled that first day, we walked through many of Rome's picturesque "piazzas". We basically made the biggest walking loop ever, starting from our hostel to the nearby Piazza della Republica, then through Piazza della Barberini to Pazza di Spagna with its famous "Spanish Steps", and further north to Piazza del Popolo. Most of the plazas have beautiful white buildings with elaborate sculptures, and there is always a fountain. We finally stopped to rest by some ancient mausoleum, where it felt less scandalous to soak our feet in the fountain. We then resumed our walk all the way down Via del Corso, where we slowly walked past its upscale shops (to get a brief blast of their air-conditioning!), past the impressive Piazza Venezia, and back to the hostel. I can't even begin to describe how exhausted we were by the time we were done that night. And the next day we were doing all the Roman ruins!


We started bright and early at the Colosseum, which is as impressive as you would imagine. On the ground level, you can walk part-way around to see up-close the "backstage" of the stadium. You can see the ruins of all these walls which were underneath the stage, where they would keep the wild animals before bringing them up to the stage in elevators. Then upstairs, you can walk all the way around, with exhibits on the construction and use of the Colosseum, as well as ancient Roman customs. Next we headed to Palatine Hill across the street, which houses many other ancient ruins, such as the House of Augustus and the Roman Forum. (I kept waiting for something funny to happen en route so I could make a stupid comment later, but no such luck). It was just amazing to actually see these things we'd learned so much about. Ancient history was always at the beginning of the year, so while we always ran out of time to study WWII, I actually know my stuff on Rome. After all the walking in the sun, though, we needed another fountain. We headed back to Piazza Venezia and found many people with the same idea. After cooling off, we had lunch at an Irish pub, before going back to hostel where I fell asleep for TWO HOURS. When I finally came to, we ventured back out to the Pantheon and the Fountain of Trevi which, like most of Rome, are incredibly stunning.


The next day, we went to Vatican City! We started at the Vatican Museums, where we immediately followed signs to the Sistine Chapel. An hour later, we finally got to it, after snaking on forever through elaborate corridors filled with various collections. The modern religious art was actually really interesting, seeing as how I never thought the Church would allow some of the styles. So we're finally standing in the Sistine Chapel, with Michelangelo's gorgeous work on the ceiling. And I'm too distracted thinking about how mis-educated I am to have always thought it was a dome! It was just a flat ceiling! (I can't tell you how many times on this trip I have seriously questioned the quality of my history education. Although no real surprise there...) We then went to buy stamps (we've been collecting one from each country!) and the staff there were the rudest we've encountered anywhere! I couldn't believe it. But anyways, we made our way back through more corridors, including the surprising collection of Egyptian artifacts, before getting in line for St. Peter's. The dress-code is incredibly strict! You always have to cover knees, shoulders, and upper arms, but at some churches they have thin fabric available if you need to cover up. Here they just turned people away-- one lady had newspaper very sloppily tucked into her clothing, and was outraged when they wouldn't let her in. The basilica itself was again very beautifully decorated (though I found San Marco in Venice the most beautiful thus far), and is apparently where everyone rubs St. Peter's foot, so that it now looks deformed. Afterwards I got my first bruschetta in Italy, and then we walked to the busy Piazza Navona, and back to the fountain from the first day to cool off again. Rome is hot and exhausting! Our hostel there actually had air conditioning, though, which was a godsend. So we stayed in and cooked that evening and took care of ourselves by reading, filing nails, writing up emails, watching House, etc. And now we are off to the Italian and French Riviera, starting in the villages of Cinque Terre. Will write more soon!

Update Two: Freiburg, Luzern, Munich, Salzburg

Kelly and I are now already in the fourth city since I last updated, so prepare yourselves for a long update! A recurring theme of the trip is getting frustrated over finding the internet. We either can't find a place with wifi, or my computer will refuse to connect to it. We end up in some sketchy internet café where we have to pay, and so we try to make it quick. It's tough because when you finally find everything you need, you are on to the next city and have to figure it out all over again! This also means we have been booking our accommodation very last minute, which is a bit stressful (and probably more expensive).

In Freiburg last Monday, we actually just showed up that afternoon without any reservations, but ended up at a very inexpensive, very hippy youth hostel. We got a private room that was quite large, and we stayed in and cooked spaghetti that first night. We did walk around the neighborhood, and got some ice cream down the street. The next morning we got up early and went to the open-air market they have in Munsterplatz, the main square with its impressive church in the center. We bought some things for a picnic lunch and hopped a train to Titisee, a small lakeside town about a half-hour away. We wandered through the tiny center and then onto a wooded trail until we found a decent park bench. While we were eating our lunch, we heard rain which was apparently pouring down around us, but we were thankfully under a big tree. We managed to time it right to get back the train station without getting too wet. After we were back in Freiburg, we explored the city and had a cheap Italian dinner with far too much garlic. We ended the night at a small café with a delicious slice of Black Forest cake-- it has chocolate and cherries and some kind of alcohol in the mix. Because there are so many regional dishes I can't eat (meat!), I have been trying all the desserts. It works out quite well. [As a side note, I did have duck in Paris, which Kelly then reported everyone she knows.]

At 10 am Wednesday we were on the train again to Luzern, Switzerland. When we were getting off, the Swiss people who had been next to us asked where we were from. They said that from our accents, they knew we were either east coast, or from New Zealand. (I think I said "card" pretty terribly. My accent has been getting inexplicably stronger.) The hostel was pretty amazing-- we had a private room with a balcony, although it was very damp and drizzly the whole time. But the whole downstairs was very clean and cute. We had to run some some errands, and Brady called from Arizona to say hello and see where in the world we were. We ate dinner at a little pub-restaurant where a woman was very adamant about cleaning every shutter outside. My meal was basically a piece of thick bread with cheese melted over it in the oven, and then an over-easy egg on top. Very delicious and fairly cheap, but then we killed our budget on a movie that cost 16 francs! That's like $15.89 USD. It was an Irish film, "Once", that was really good, with amazing music that won an Oscar or something, but it was rather depressing. It made me want to drink heavily (I restrained myself though). The next day we had an easy morning before walking around the amazingly charming old downtown area. We looked in some of the cute shops, and then walked along the remains of the old city wall, and climbed one of the towers. We went to the bank quite a few times, trying to get rid of all our Swiss francs. We cooked dinner at the hostel (and drank Californian White Zinfandel that seemed so sweet after all the French wine I've sampled) and went to bed.

Friday we left at 7:20 am on a 5-hour train to Munich. After check-in at our very budget hotel, we had lunch at an organic market down the street, and did our laundry nearby. Dinner was at a place "Literaturhaus" which was described in our guidebook as inexpensive gourmet. Apparently, that means French food! Kelly got quiche Lorraine, and I had a goat cheese tartinette with a flaky crust and salad on top, but the atmosphere was just really nice. We then strolled around Marienplatz, one of the main squares with a huge church (what else) and called it a night. Saturday morning we went to the Munchener Stadtmuseum, which had exhibits on Munich's history with lots of visuals. We fought our way down Kaufingerstrasse, which was filled with people in traditional costumes, to meet Sabine (Brady's German girlfriend from Nancy). She filled us in that it was Munich's 850^th anniversary and the first weekend of celebrations. She took us around a few of the main areas and gardens, and to get lunch at a salad bar where Kelly and I both had Lowenbrau beer! We met her mother and grandparents for dessert at a café on the top floor of the oldest department store in Munich. Her family was very sweet, though communication was difficult, and I had a very good German cheesecake, with the promise that Bine would try the New York style when she comes to visit in August. We parted ways there, and Kelly and I went on an unsuccessful mission to find free internet downtown, but the hotel woman's son actually lent us his laptop for an hour so we could book our hotel for Salzburg. We then fell asleep watching Jon Stewart on CNN.

Sunday morning we went on a guided tour to Dachau, the site of a former concentration camp. We had an Irish tour guide named Patrick who was very good, but he almost made the whole group of 45 people miss the bus back. We learned a lot about the psychological torture of life there, such as giving the prisoners pockets and shelves, to highlight the fact that they had no possessions to fill them with, and pitting different groups of prisoners against each other. I can't say it was "fun" but it was really interesting and moving. When we got back to Munich, we called home from an internet café, making my mother think something bad happened, so apparently I need to call more often! We had dinner at a typical German restaurant Bine had recommended, where the waiter was really awesome. He kept smiling at us as if we were doing something really funny, but he was very friendly anyway. We went to bed and woke up early to head out to Olympia Park, where we went up a tower for a nice, misty view. But it is also right near the BMW factory and museum, so we wandered around their floor, gawking at the cars and exhibits. We then checked out and ate lunch at the train station, and grabbed our train to Salzburg.

That first evening we tried to walk around the main squares, but that's when we remembered that the European cup for soccer is being held in Switzerland and Austria. We've been seeing lots of fans who are very loud and dressed like maniacs, and that night it was impossible to get through the crowds. It does make it very exciting, though sometimes the car horns are still going at 1 am. We walked on the other side of the river instead, and crossed back to eat dinner at a traditional looking place. Though I ended up with "green pasta" in a Gorgonzola sauce, Kelly had "cheese dumplings" which were some unidentifiable little bits smothered in cheese. It was raining again, so we took the bus straight back to the hotel.

Tuesday was rough because we decided to get a pass that made practically everything free, but we only had 24 hours to do it. We started by taking the funicular to the fortress on top of a huge hill, and explored the site for a few hours-- they had a few tiny museums and shops, a short guided tour, and an incredible view. Then it was the grounds and catacombs at St. Peter's at the foot of the hill, and lunch. Next we made our way across town to the Museum of Natural History, where it was so warm I felt like I might nod off. We then took a 40 minute boat cruise down the river, where I again almost fell asleep staring at the water, until the driver decided to spin the boat in circles five times to be funny or something. We had planned to cram more in but we were too tired, even though it was only 4:30 pm. So we got coffee and hot chocolate instead, bought our next train tickets, and I actually found some cheap sneakers. We ate at the same salad-bar chain we went to with Bine, but we got meals. Kelly had steak that was too bloody, and I got some delicious veggie fajitas. So we've done absolutely nothing involving Mozart or the Sound of Music, which Salzburg is famous for, but they're everywhere you go anyway.

Which finally brings me to today! We decided to stay an extra day in Salzburg to rest and catch up on things. Our hotel here is incredibly nice, since there were no cheap options by the time we booked, but it is definitely worth it to pay extra every once in a while. It's a 3-star hotel, the mattress and pillows are actually comfortable, we have a TV and bathroom all to ourselves, and there is wifi and a sauna downstairs. So we definitely picked a good place to have our relaxation day. We leave at 7 am tomorrow for a very long train to Venice. I need to dig out my Italian book and start studyingI'm really looking forward to this portion of the trip, and I hope we'll be on to some better weather. But I have to go pack up and hit the sauna before bed, so I'll leave you all here. Ciao!

Backpacking Europe, Update One: Paris, Bruges, Amsterdam

My blog is now coming to you from the road! I am only one week into my trip with Kelly, but already have a bit to write. Friday May 30^th was a rough day moving out of my apartment. Brady had left very early in the morning, and Kelly and I worked our butts off cleaning and throwing out everything he left hanging around, but we finally got out of there around 12:30. I had to turn in my keys to the landlady, so we spent the last night in Nancy in the Ibis Hotel across from the train station. We dropped off our bags and headed to the school for my final concert with the chorus, which was difficult to get through. The students are so enthusiastic and sweet; I will really miss seeing them every week. We sang "Flower of Scotland" again since it was one of our favorites from the last concert, and they had changed the lyrics of a verse to say goodbye to me. Afterwards, Jonathan and Aurelie had arranged a little aperitif in the teachers' lounge where they made me open a bottle of champagne for the first time (and I didn't kill anyone with the cork!). Most of the English teachers were also there so I said my final goodbyes, and I couldn't help welling up a bit, though I mostly kept it together. Kelly and I had a great last night in Nancy with an assistant friend Katie-- we ate delicious crepes and went to the Mezcalito, a "techno bar" next door that Pamela and I always liked. Then it was off to bed before our 7 am train to Paris!

We spent three and a half days in Paris, which was once again overrun with other tourists who slowed us down a bit. It also didn't help that our first budget hotel was awful (small room, small bed, shared bathroom, no breakfast, etc). When we found out you had to pay for the showers, though, that was it. We quickly changed our hotel for the next two nights, but lost a bit of time arranging everything. Still, we got to see all the important sights-- Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, the Eiffel Tower, and even Versailles. We squeezed in some museums (the Conciergerie, Rodin, Carnavale, Picasso) and saw some areas I'd never visited before. We explored Montparnasse where we went up to the 56^th floor of the tower, Place des Vosges (I was missing Lorraine!), and Place de la Republique. I even bought a new pair of women's walking sandals, so the man-sandals I bought in Quebec back in '04 have finally been retired. But after four separate trips to Paris, I still never made it to the Musee d'Orsay or the Centre Pompidou, so now I will have a good excuse to return.

We left Paris on Tuesday afternoon for Bruges, Belgium, which has to be one of the most charming cities I've seen so far. All the houses have jagged, pointy roofs, and there are little canals winding between the cobblestone streets. We sampled waffles and "French" fries which are Belgian specialties, and went to a chocolate museum. Then there was the hospital museum, and though it was mostly about the church the hospital had been in, it was interesting nonetheless. Otherwise, we just strolled around the squares and markets, and ate very well. And after a bit of laundry Thursday morning, we were on the way to Amsterdam.

That first afternoon we just wandered around the neighborhood of our hotel. We ended up with two Frenchmen as our roommates! (I can't escape!) We had breakfast with them the next day before Kelly and I went to the Anne Frank House. Afterwards we had delicious pancakes for lunch, and went to some grill for dinner that had menus shaped like bulls' heads, and corn on the cob that tasted horrible! Since we hadn't gotten much accomplished yet, Saturday turned out to be quite busy. We started off by renting bikes for a ride out to the countryside, where we saw a windmill, and lots of farms and animals. Then we did some errands which took an unnecessarily long time, but after we went on a pleasant boat cruise through the canals. We got stuck in a sudden downpour that night, but we waited it out and had a relaxing last night downtown.

I am writing this last bit on a German train from Cologne to Freiburg. We stopped over in Cologne for a night since it was cheaper than travelling long distance on Sunday, or paying for an extra night in Amsterdam. We were pretty exhausted so we didn't do too much, but we did get to walk around a bit to see the Rhine and "The Dom" cathedral. So this week is Germany and Switzerland-- and on to places I've never seen before. I got to scope out some of this week's cities already, but even so we had some difficulties with languages, maps, and menus. I will post another blog next week to let you know how it all goes...

Saying goodbye

Salut, mes amis! The end of my stay in Nancy is quickly approaching, and I am trying to deal with all the changes that have been happening here. Only 5 more days in Nancy! Kelly arrived in one piece last Wednesday, and we spent a few easy days hanging around the apartment while she adjusted to the "décalage horaire". Now she will get to see my very exciting life here... (heavy sarcasm right there).

I did get to travel with my family in the beginning of May which was really fun. I couldn't wrap my head around seeing them in Europe with me! Paris was fun, but overrun with tourists as always. I think the family was also a bit tired from the travel, and still adjusting to all the little nuances of life in Europe (no forks?!). We went to many of the places I've already been, but it is so different to experience it with other people. We even showed our Boston sides, taking pictures in our Red Sox shirts by the Eiffel Tower, thanks to Ellen's great suggestion! And everyone tried some rather exotic Parisian food, like steak tartar (raw hamburg-- go, Mom!) Then it was off to Nancy, where they got to hang out with Brady and Marc, who decided to be their personal guide to all things French, like aged comté and proper wine. We cooked at home, had a picnic in the park, and then had a nice dinner of the regional specialties downtown.

It was also my first time going to Germany-- we started in Weinheim which I found really charming. They have beautiful gardens and forests surrounding the city, a nice town center, and it felt different than France although I can't quite explain why. We only stayed a day there, and we were off to Cologne which has an amazing cathedral, The Dom, that I must have 50 pictures of. We strolled downtown and along the river, had some authentic German dinners like Dad's pork knuckle, and took a cruise along the Rhine. I think we took it slow and really got a feel for the flair of each city. It was a bit strange saying goodbye to my family in Europe, though, and get on a train alone again.

Since the end of April, I have found that everything here has changed quite a bit. I have been finding it incredibly difficult to think about leaving behind my life in France and all the people I've met here. It almost seems more difficult than it was to say goodbye to everyone at home, and I think it is because this is more permanent. No matter where I go, I will always come back to Boston. But I'm not sure that I'll ever be back in Nancy, and the people I knew here will be spread all over the world. Pamela and Autumn, some of my closest assistant friends, have already left, so I have been spending time with a lot of other assistants through Brady. It's a bit hard though trying to get to know more people in the last month before I leave. And I will miss all the people I worked with here! I finally felt comfortable with all of my colleagues and in my role at the school. All the English teachers took me to dinner to say goodbye, which was wonderful except that it made it sink in that I am actually leaving soon.

Five more days... well, really only four because Kelly and I planned some day-trips around Nancy. Saturday, we went to Luxembourg city, and this Wednesday we go to Strasbourg. But otherwise we will be here planning out the start of our trip. I will have to tie up the loose ends of my life here-- cancel contracts, turn in my keys, and say goodbye to everyone. And I still have to stuff everything into my backpack! So I probably won't have time to write again before we leave for Paris on Saturday morning, but the laptop is coming with us on the trip. I will try to post something up here and there, even if I don't have time to write something interesting. But feel free to email anytime! We fly home July 21st, so I will see you all around then!

The Middle Months

Salut! I can't believe it is almost May! As of today, I am officially unemployed, and we have entered the portion of my stay where I travel everywhere and become very poor! I finished teaching on Monday, which was a bit strange, but mostly anticlimactic. Mondays I don't really have my favorite classes, and at that point I thought I would be teaching on Tuesday. I then found out that most of my classes weren't happening for various reasons, so I just went home and that was it. I am planning to visit a few of my favorite classes in May to really say goodbye, and we still have a concert with my chorus at the end of the month. So I haven't really had to say goodbye quite yet! A few of the assistants are heading back to the US this week, though, so life here will be a bit different.

I have spent a lot of time travelling since my last update-- Pamela and I went to Cannes in southern France in February, and it was very warm, but not quite like summer yet. Mostly we just visited with her friend Elizabeth and walked along the beach. The next week we accompanied some students from my school to London, though we spent most of our time with the few teachers who went as well. I got to see Mike again for a crazy night in Brighton with his very international coworkers!

I also celebrated my 24^th birthday with the assistants and my teacher-friend Aurelie, whose birthday is March 18^th. Then it was off to Amsterdam two days later to meet up with Auntie Susan and my cousin Nick from California. We stayed with her friend Anthony who was very welcoming and has an amazing apartment. We spent some time sightseeing at the Anne Frank house, the Van Gogh museum, the Rijksmuseum, and seeing all the canals (and the Red Light district!). We also dined really well all week, and I don't think I've ever eaten so much good vegetarian food.

Lately I have been really trying to experience life in Lorraine. I've been to a bingo night in the middle of the countryside with the two Aurelie's, and a soccer game between Nancy and Paris with Brady and Sabine. I have been going to new areas of Nancy as well, whether for bowling or walking or drinking. To get to know French people better, I decided to look into doing a language exchange. I have been seeing a 24-year old riot cop, Marc, often and comparing the French and American outlook on a lot of things. This vacation he showed me the Vosges mountain range in southeast Lorraine, so I got to do some hiking and speak with his family as well. I hate that I finally feel that I'm making French friends and fitting in here and getting comfortable, and it is almost time to pack it up. Marc tells me there is a French expression that says travelling gives you an experience of both birth and death, and I think that couldn't be more true.

Now I am starting to focus more on my travel plans-- my family is coming to Paris tomorrow! We will be spending three days there, then two days in Nancy meeting everyone here, and then we're off to Germany to see the Mannheim area and Cologne. I am so excited, but I really can't believe that it is already May. Then I have just a few weeks to arrange things, and Kelly will arrive May 21^st, and then we will travel for 7 weeks in June and July. I think it will be a nice transition between life here and back home, and give me some time to adjust. Well, I have to get to the grocery store before it closes-- we are having a Mexican dinner night at the apartment, and I will have to say goodbye to Pamela ce soir. I hope all is well with everyone at home. I look forward to seeing everyone and hearing your stories from the year. A bientot!

Ahhh, it's 2008!!! (and February already!)

Wow, two months since the last update! That is shameful! Life has been sort of evening out here, I guess. I have had a lot of time to think lately! A group of our English-speaking friends went home in December, since people are here for different jobs and programs, and now some of the German assistants will head home in March. I've been trying to work on my written French, and start up with Italian a bit. But I've also been trying to pay more attention to how beautiful the city is! When I arrived, I was too busy and stressed to notice much, and afterwards everything had already faded into the background. Also, I have stayed in France for all my recent short trips, and found I actually missed my apartment and my regular spots for errands and going out, and even just knowing what bus to take.

In December, I went to Strasbourg twice. It is in Alsace, about an hour and a half away by train, and they have a famous Christmas market. The first time, I just went by myself for the afternoon to do some shopping and get in the holiday spirit (since there isn't really snow here!). Then at the end of the month, my roommate Brady's dad, brother, and friend from Texas came to visit in Nancy before they toured around for Christmas. They invited me to come with them overnight on the 23^rd to Stasbourg before they were heading into Germany, so rather spontaneously, I decided that I should go! We spent a while finding a hotel, and sorting out train issues, but then we had a great time just wandering around the city and sharing some mulled wine (vin chaud, or Glüwein in German) outside in the cold, and chatting over a game of darts in a bar while Brady's dad fell asleep watching us!

Then I headed home alone to spend a quiet Christmas in my now empty apartment! Autumn's dad and stepmom were here to visit, though, so I was invited out for Christmas dinner with them, and her and I made dinner for them another night too. Then next night, I stayed overnight at Aurelie's, watching French films and English comedy and just relaxing. She is a 26 year old first-year English teacher at the school who is super sweet, and we get along very well. Then for New Year's, Autumn was off to London, but Pamela and I were invited over by some French folks we often sit next to at this one bar, though we don't talk with them too much. There were only about ten of us there, so we had to speak with them a bit more but found they were all very warm, and we all had a great, if slightly awkward, time. And now we see them at the bar and actually chat with them and know their names! So all in all the holidays weren't too bad-- I was able to spend quality time with people and enjoy myself, but it wasn't quite the traditional Christmas I'm used to.

January 1^st I hopped on a train to Grenoble, a small city near Lyon, further south in France. It is right in the middle of the mountains, and so beautiful! The only place I can compare it to is Colorado maybe, only French. I stayed in the hostel, and had a wonderful time cooking with other young travelers in the kitchen. I met a girl from England who was teaching in Scotland, two guys from the Czech Republic, and one from Slovakia. We didn't go out anywhere together, but it was nice to have friendly conversation over dinner. The second day I headed to a ski resort, but instead of actually skiing I went ice skating for a few hours (my ankles did NOT feel good after that) and then I hung out in the spa area. I found out what a hammam is, and went in a jacuzzi and sauna. Very relaxing... but then I took a train to Paris the next day, spent the night at the Louvre (free for youth on Friday nights!), and then met up with Mike and his girlfriend the next morning. I revisited Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, but actually went to the tops of both this time, and got to wander around some different neighborhoods. But Paris felt different this time, like it was just too big and exhausting for me. I still love it, but was very glad to get home to Nancy and my familiar neighborhoods!

Since then it has been back to work! I have been teaching my students about the elections, which totally baffle them (me too), the death penalty, vacations, writing dialogues... anything, basically. Each class is doing something different! But I still try to use the lessons that go well with as many classes as possible. The terminale students (12^th grade) are preparing to take their BAC, an exam that they have to pass in order to graduate. There are different programs in high schools here, so not every class will have exactly the same test, but most of them have to take an oral exam in English. I think they are finally panicking and paying attention to me more. Nothing like fear to get them to listen, eh? More exciting for me, we have actually started a chorus at the school with Aurelie, Jonathan (the teacher from England), and I. There are only six or seven students, but they are such a good group! I have them all in class too, so I feel like I am really getting to know them. We had two small shows for Christmas, one at the school and one at a library downtown, and we have two more coming up in early March where we will sing national anthems from English-speaking countries. We've already learned Flower of Scotland, God Save the Queen, and the Star-Spangled Banner, of course. I have to learn the French one, La Marseillaise, quickly since I'm the only one that doesn't already know it perfectly! I will be sure to keep you posted on the students, and my next travels-- we have another vacation in one week! And I will be sure to get the pictures up right away. I hope you are all well, and I would love to hear your stories from home too. Miss everyone! Happy February!