Barcelona

This is just going to be a quick post to tell you about my trip to Barcelona!

This trip was very hectic with various problems going on simultaneously that I'll neglect to get into here, but just to paint a picture, I was a freaking mess going into this trip. All I wanted to do was see my Mommy and Daddy, but the buses were sold out and I almost missed my first train, but I got there. Thankfully, once in Barcelona, things settled down and became much more relaxing.

It was incredible to see my parents. Being away from home for 4 months isn't that bad, except for missing friends and family. It's like you're fine, but then all of  a sudden you get hit with a tidal wave of emotions. So, yes, seeing the rents was great.

Barcelona is absolutely beautiful! It was really funny to me because all of the locals were all bundled up and freezing, while the rest of us were walking around in light jackets and relatively warm. It was nice to feel some warmth, even though our first day there was really rainy. I was only there for the weekend, which wasn't nearly long enough, but a girl's gotta work, right?

We got into the train station at about 9 PM and took a taxi to the hotel. After checking into our rooms, I went out to dinner with my parents at a little burger place near by. It was nice to catch up and drink some beers, but we were all pretty tired, so we called it an early night.

The next day, we got up late (around 10) and headed out towards La Rambla for some touristy sight seeing. We were there during the off-season, plus it was raining, so we didn't see all of the crazy street performers and excitement that is normally happening, but it was still pretty cool. Before we got onto the main road, we stopped and drank from this famous fountain. It's rumored that if you drink from it you'll return to Barcelona in your lifetime, so there's hope yet!

We poked in and out of the shops, bought some souvenirs, and checked out one of the markets near by. We also decided to get some sangria at one of the little terraces, which was fun, but quite the shock when we got the bill. 13 euros each! And the sangria wasn't even that incredible. It was still nice to share drinks and chat on a busy street in Barcelona with the parents though!

We walked all the way down La Rambla to the Mediterranean, which was just so beautiful. There is a big monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus there and he's pointing to the new world, but he's actually pointing in the wrong direction, which I think is really funny.

After taking some pictures, we headed back towards town in a different direction. We walked by such beautiful architecture and incredible churches.

After making our way back towards the hotel, we stopped for some more sangria at a university bar close by, which was much more delicious and much less expensive. We rested for a little at the hotel and went to grab some dinner later that night. After dinner and drinks, we went back to the hotel and we all hung out in my parents room drinking from the mini fridge and talking until it was time for bed.

Once again, around 10 AM we headed out and walked towards la Sagrada Familia, which is this incredibly old and BEAUTIFUL church that is still under construction today. It was designed by Gaudi, but he knew it would never be completed in his lifetime. If you walk around the church, you can see so many different styles of architecture and themes and images, all on one building. The inside is just as beautiful with its stained glass windows and vaulted ceilings. We went up into one of the towers and looked out over all of Barcelona. It was so lovely.

After some tapas at a near by restaurant, we walked back to La Rambla and and Mama Green and I checked out some more shops while the boys went to an old roman monument. My parents headed back to the hotel while Jason and I found our way to the beach, which was so beautiful. The waves were big and people were surfing and the water was warm. The wind was very strong though and a little too cold for my liking, so we didn't stay there for too too long.

We met my parents back at the university bar to grab some food to hold us over until dinner time. We ended up in this awesome Irish pub for dinner because they were playing American football. Even though the only food this pub had to offer was very basic nachos, we stayed put. After all, it's the playoffs. After a 49er's victory, my parents went back to the hotel (Mind you, it was about 1 AM in Barcelona). Jason and I watched the first half of the Pats game before we were kicked out for closing time. We went back to the hotel and checked updates on his phone, only to be ousted by the stupid Ravens. Oh well, at least I was disappointed about my team losing while I was in Barcelona. How bad could things really be, right?

My parents and Jason left to go back home in the morning and I puttered around Barcelona for a couple hours before heading to the bus station and making my way back to Toulouse.  Now, it's back to the grind and it feels very odd. I only have 3 more months left and I don't know if that makes me happy or sad. I guess a little bit of both.

Two for one: London and Normandy!

I'm being terribly slow with my blogging (my apologies) so I'm just going to tell you about London and Normandy at the same time. Otherwise, who know how long it will take?

LONDON:
We were only in London for 2 days, but it was a great time. We got into London in the afternoon and after finding our way to the Hotel, we went for lunch. After lunch, we walked around for a while and went to the National Gallery. Besides losing Jason for about an hour, it was great. There was a lovely impressionism exhibit and I got to see so many of my favorite artists- including Monet :)
Once we were all arted out we walked around London and took a look at the shops near Picadilly Circus and Soho. We walked through Chinatown (and somehow made it out without buying any food). We explored the underground, which is pretty idiot proof, thank goodness.

We were absolutely exhausted after our crazy weekend in Dublin and traveling all day, so we took it easy the first night in London. We got some beer and cider from a store, got a couple take out pizzas and just relaxed in the hotel- ready to get an early start in the morning.

Our first stop in the morning was St. Paul's Cathedral, which was absolutely gorgeous. We got the London Pass, so at St. Paul's we got a free audio guide which explained so much really interesting information about the Cathedral and it's history. The art inside is absolutely gorgeous. I have no pictures of the inside because you weren't allowed to take any, but we climbed about 500 steps to go up to the upper dome and there was quite a nice view there.

Afterwards, we went to the Tower of London, which was also really cool. We skipped the audio guides and the tour books at this one because they were really expensive. Also, Rick Steve's London tourism book includes his own little tour of the Tower of London, which was really helpful. I thought we were going to an actual tower, but it's this ridiculously old castle that's full of historical artifacts. It's just so crazy to me how old everything is in Europe. In the US, the oldest things we have are from the 1700's pretty much and there I was looking at things from like... 200 AD. It was unbelievable. We also decided not to see the Crown Jewels because the line was super long and we wanted to get to some other places as well. 

Before heading into Westminster Abbey, we stopped and took some pictures of Parliament and Big Ben. 

 At Westminster, they have this cool tour set up that you can walk along and just play the audio guide, depending on what you want to learn about. Seeing as Jason and I are nerds, it took us a while to get through, but you could do it faster. It was really cool because when we where there, the choir sang evening songs and it was so lovely. It's just hard for me to comprehend how one building can hold so much history. 

As we were leaving, there was a line forming for the 5:00 mass and it was going all the way around the building. There wasn't much daylight left at this point, so we had to get on our way. (Once again no inside pictures!)

After Westminster, we didn't have much of a plan and a lot of the museums were closing soon, so we headed to the underground without much in mind besides a cold beer. We ended up making our own little pub crawl, which was delicious and very fun. We had dinner at this incredible place called "Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese" which was this ridiculously old building turned bar/restaurant. The food was so good and I had one of the best beers I've ever had. We also went to the financial district, which was really cool because there were these old, fancy banks that are now pubs. So you're in a bar, but it's beautiful and has incredible architecture. (Though we did feel a bit under dressed).

And I also got to do what I've been dreaming of my whole life. (Or at least since I started reading Harry Potter) I went to platform 9 3/4!!

We were on our feet the entire day, so I was ready to call it a night around 11. We got up nice and early to walk to the underground and make our way to the airport. This took a bit longer than the express train we took into the city, but it was MUCH less expensive. 

NORMANDY: 

We were in Normandy for even less time, but it was still amazing. After making a much too long and unnecessary walk to our hotel from the train station, we got checked in and then set out to find some food. This was the first time Jason was in France and the lack of English was a bit overwhelming for him, so we found a pizza place and ended up with a cheese plate appetizer, pizza, and dessert. It was so yummy. We had another early night and got up early for our D-Day tour in the morning.

Before the tour, we stopped by the HUGE cathedral in Bayeux, which was about 1 minute from our hotel. It's called Notre Dame, but not the one in Paris, of course. I was actually allowed to take pictures inside, which was surprising. It was such a beautiful place.

If you're ever in Bayeux, I recommend you do the same exact thing we did. 

Stay here:

It's a great value and has a yummy restaurant and helpful staff!

Go on a D-Day tour with Victory Tours:

http://victorytours.com/

Our tour guide's name was Roel and he was so knowledgeable and very very funny! It was just me and Jason, so we pretty much had a private tour at a reasonable price!

We went on the full day tour and went to so many incredible places:

-Gold Beach

-a German Battery with the original guns still there

-Omaha Beach (which was so eerie and peaceful)

-The American Military War Museum (once again... just an incredibly powerful experience)

-Pointe du Hoc (where the Rangers scaled the cliffs)

-German Military War Cemetary (not included in the tour, but we finished early so we got a freebie)

I honestly can't even attempt to describe this day to you. I feel like I was in awe the entire time. It was beautiful, but incredibly sad and emotional at the same time. You can't help, but be touched by the history and by the sacrifices that were made by people younger than I am now. If you ever have the chance, I really recommend doing this. It puts a lot of things in perspective.

After the tour, we got dinner at the hotel and went to the train station for a long night of traveling back to Toulouse. It was an incredible experience I'll never forget. 

Ireland: whiskey, guinness, and tea.

**Disclaimer: Despite the 3 cups of coffee I've drank this morning, I'm still struggling to keep my eyes open AND I'm typing on a French keyboard, so I apologize for all of the typos that are bound to happen in this post.**

So, on my trip I went to Ireland, London, and Normandy. I had a great time at all 3 places, but Ireland was absolutely my favorite. After some VERY last minute travel stress (Jason's flight out of NY was cancelled and he had to catch the train to Philly to make his connector) I arrived in London and met Jason (who thankfully made it to Philly in time) outside of baggage claim. From there we took a bus to the train station and a train to Thurles, where we were picked up by some of Jason's distant relatives. We stayed with his family for 4 nights in a small town called Cahir and it was so wonderful. They were so generous and welcoming. Even though I'm not a part of the family, I instantly felt at home thanks to their hospitality.

The night we arrived, we went to a little bar called Jim O' the Mills, which is actually someone's home that they open up on Thursday nights for the community to come have a drink and socialize. This was one of the coolest places I've ever been. There were 3 different rooms and each one was full of people of every age. There wasn't a TV in sight. There was no loud techno music blasting from speakers. There were just people talking to each other. Young people, old people; those in between. The only music there was the music being played by the locals who brought their own fiddles and accordions and guitars. There were people of all ages singing traditional Irish songs. It was something I've never seen before and I don't know if I'll ever see it anywhere else.

Everywhere we went and with each person we met, we were offered tea and/or whiskey. It wasn't only the drinks though. With the drinks came biscuits and sweets and cakes that were never ending- no matter what time it was.

It goes without saying that Ireland is absolutely stunning. I am so happy that I was able to go see the "real" Ireland and hear the local folklore associated with the area. We were lucky enough to have really knowledgeable and willing "tour guides" readily available to take us to some incredible places.

We went to:
-the Rock of Cashel
-Cahir Castel
- the Cliffs of Moher
-more churches; abbeys; and monasteries than I can mention
-tea shops
-local pubs
-family parties
-incredibly old cemeteries

and all of it was just unbelievable. I'm using a school computer right now, so I can't put up any of my pictures, but when I get home later I'll try to add some so you can see what I mean. But, if you're feeling impatient, the pictures are on my Facebook!

HERE YOU GO!

Rock of Cashel

Cliffs of Moher

Cahir Castle

Christ Church

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Guinness Storehouse

dessert at the Farm restaurant!

After a wonderful time at the Peters', Jason and I made our way to Dublin. Like I said earlier; I'm really glad that we got to spend time in the "real" Ireland, because Dublin is quite touristy. That being said, I had so much freaking fun!! We stayed at Jury's Inn; which is a great location if you're ever in Dublin. We had a great view of Christ's Church and we were a 2 minute walk from Temple bar. The first night we were there, we didn't to too much sight seeing, as it was New Year's Eve. We got some food, got ready, and headed to Temple bar to celebrate the incoming year.

Temple Bar is awesome. There are so many different bars and they each have their own individual atmosphere. They all had live bands and great beer and were full of fun people. Even when we went back the next night; it was still a really fun place to be.

On January 1st, we made sure to see as much as we could since we were leaving early in the morning. First we went inside Christ's Church, which was beautiful. We got some chips (and skipped the fish) from Leo Burdock's and walked down to St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was lovely, but we didn't go inside. It was a really nice day, so we sat in the park outside the Cathedral and finished our chips before heading to the Guinness Storehouse. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was really cool! It's a bit expensive, but there is a lot to see and a nice cold Guinness is included in the price. The top floor of the Storehouse is this big, circular room with windows instead of walls, where you can see all of Dublin. Not a bad place to drink a Guinness.

After that, we mostly just walked around and did a bit of shopping, but we walked A LOT and saw so many cool things. Jason had a guide book from Rick Steve's that I highly recommend to anyone going to Dublin. It was so full of useful information and it showed us where to find a restaurant called The Farm where we had a delicious (and organic) meal! We used his London guide book as well and it was also VERY helpful.

We left bright and early to head to London, but I would have loved to stay and explore some more. I don't know what my plans for the future are, but I'll definitely be making my way back to Ireland for more!    

Back to work!

Hello everyone!

I'm back in Toulouse and my vacation is over, unfortunately. I had such an amazing trip, which I will have to tell you about next time. I'm home for lunch in between classes and I don't have enough time to even begin to describe my travels. But, I promise, it will happen soon. And most likely in sections because I did a lot.

Today was my first day back to work and my alarm clock was not at all kind to me at 6:45 this morning. But, the first 4 hours of my day went well and I'm looking forward to the last 2 hours as well. We're going to attempt to solve a murder mystery in my next class. I haven't quite figured out what we're going to do in my own class this evening, but I'm sure it'll have to do with asking questions to figure out all of the things we did over break. If all else fails I can bring Apple to Apples as a back up.

My younger classes gave me little gifts for the New Year that are quite adorable. There are little notes, comic  strips, poems, and even violet flavored candy. Toulouse is famous for violets and violet flavored/scented things. I was skeptical about the candy, but they're not bad actually.

The next few weeks are going to be crazy! There's birthdays to celebrate, lessons to plan, not to mention a guest to entertain! Jason will be here for about 2 more weeks. I'm working, so I can't help him explore Toulouse as much as I'd like, but he's got a few French sentences memorized and I've got faith he'll do just fine. Then the weekend of the 18th we're going to Barcelona to see my parents! I'm so excited to see them and to see the city. After that, Jase goes home and things pretty much go back to normal.

I promise I'll write more about my trip soon, but I want to do it justice, so be patient!

AND HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Joyeux Noel!

I'm lying in bed here in Toulouse and it is technically Christmas day.

I'm not sure if it's the lack of snow, decorations, and Christmas music that I'm used to in the States or if it's just that I'm far from home, but it certainly does not feel like Christmas to me. Even though I've been teaching lessons about Christmas and other winter celebrations for the last 2 weeks, it's just not the same. I guess it's to be expected, but it's a new experience none the less.

Although for some reason when I woke up today, I walked into our bathroom, looked at the pile of toilet paper rolls that has accumulated over the past 3 months, and I was struck by Christmas inspiration. My roommate found me coloring them green, asked what I was doing, and quickly joined in. We put on Christmas music and went to work. I went to shower and when I came back, she had even made adorable angels made of champagne corks. Yes... we made a toilet paper roll Christmas tree.

Those are empty pizza and cereal boxes we wrapped with grocery ads... they're empty.

While we were being oh so festive, our doorbell rang and it was Christophe inviting us to join him and his family for Christmas dinner tonight. I guess he had seen our light on, so he knew we were home and he didn't want us to have to be alone for the holidays. It was very nice of him and dinner was delicious. He even gave Anna and I copies of the classic French comic, Asterix. 

This is the one that I got!

We were also invited to have some light snacks at our neighbors tomorrow afternoon with her family, which we more than willingly accepted! We had dinner there last week and the company, discussions, and food were all fantastic, so I'm looking forward to spending more time with them! One of my teachers also invited me to join her family tomorrow if I needed somewhere to go. It's just so nice to see how welcoming and understanding people here can be. The French have a reputation of being cold and distant, but I'm finding quite the opposite during my time here. That's what the holidays are all about, right?

So, tomorrow I'm going to relax and enjoy my day. I'm going to get to speak some French and meet new people. I'm going to skype with my family and watch them open presents (and wish I was there with them).  It's strange being away for Christmas, but I feel such a strong and powerful love and connection to my family and being away has, if anything, made it exponentially stronger. I don't know where I'm going to end up in my life, but I know they will always be there somehow. Awwww.

I'm leaving on Thursday to travel around Europe (Ireland, London, and Normandy) for a week or so, but I'll update as soon as I can when I get back!

Happy holidays everyone and a happy New Year as well!

Newtown.

I know that this blog is supposed to be about my adventures abroad, but I need to talk about this. It's all I'm thinking about and I'm having a lot of trouble trying to move past and go on with my journey here. There have been many of these terrible incidents in my lifetime, but this hits so close to home. Literally. I live about 20 minutes from Newtown. I'm lucky enough to not know anyone directly affected by this tragedy, but I can't express how much I feel for everyone. Everyone lost, all families, the members of the community, everyone. I spoke to my Mom on the phone today for a while and I was just so happy to be able to hear her voice. I'm here and having a great experience and an amazing time. I'm meeting incredible people. But all I want is to be able to go home and hug my family. I'm not going to get into a discussion of what we should do now because this just isn't the time or place.

I guess all I can do is accept that it's okay to feel this way. It's okay to grieve. It's okay to cry. I don't need to move on right away. In fact, we shouldn't just "move on" from things like this. All I can do is keep everyone in my thoughts and hope that we can come together as a community to help each other through this terrible time. It's so strange being abroad while this is occurring. Everyone here is saddened by the event, but it's different when it's right next door. I know I can't let this ruin what I'm doing here. But, I can't pretend everything is okay. I'm going into school tomorrow and I don't know what I'm going to say to my students. How can I just give a lesson about the holiday's around the world like everything is okay? I'm sure they'll ask me about it, but what can I say? They likely know just as much as I do.

I just can't stop feeling for the families of those poor children. It's a sick world sometimes with sick people. It will always come as a shock when something like this happens in such a "safe" place. But, what can you do? You can't refuse to leave your home because of fear. I don't know what the answer is, but this will remain in my thoughts for some time.

I'll update you all with my adventures another time. But for now, I love you all very much.

When I wear a skirt.

When I wear a skirt-
It means that I like wearing skirts and I wanted to wear a skirt, so I wore a skirt.

When I wear a skirt-
It does not mean that I want French men yelling at me in the streets.
It does not mean I'm asking for people to honk at me.
It does not mean that you have the right to stop your car and hit on me.

I do not wear skirts for your approval.
I should not have to just tolerate your harassment just because "it's the French way."

I will wear a skirt any damn time I feel like it.
I don't care if you like it or not.
Leave me the hell alone.