walking in a winter wonderland.

Readers, I have to admit that I did something more exciting than organize files in my Dad's storage unit while wearing sweatpants and a baseball cap. I was taken on a surprise trip to... NYC!

NYC, also known as New York City, is one of my favorite places and has been rather magical to me. When I was younger I wanted to go to NYU and live there and basically be Carrie Bradshaw from Sex in the City with slightly less drama (but the same amount of shoes). I loved the fashion, the neighborhoods, the sleeplessness (so not a word) of it all. There is this permanent energy radiating in that city that you don't find in the district. I guess I should explained how I ended up there last Saturday.

A while back, a Ms. Kerri Falkenham (my boyfriend's sister) asked me to come to her birthday party. I said "of course" and hoped it would bring out my youthful side. A sleepover with a bunch of 17 year olds... I am so in. When December 7th (her bday) approached, she explained that it was doubling as my christmas present, and that I would need an overnight bag that included fancy clothes. Ok, what?! I don't like surprises and I do not trust Kerri and Lisa (mom) when it comes to gift-giving. Let's just put it this way, they are super generous and they remind me of my mom and myself when I was in high, some weird adult-child combo involving double trouble.

Well, I went along with it, although I will admit to badgering my boyfriend to death even though he insisted he knew nothing. We were planning to "leave" at 8:30am on Saturday morning so I stayed over the night before and tried to fall asleep. Right on time, we piled into the car with Craig (dad) driving. Yes, I was totally confused. Then we took this strange route leaving NH cutting west across Mass. I was making feeble attempts at guessing and then a little light bulb came on. When I drove to meet my college roommmates for the first time, I took a route that led me out towards sturbridge and then cut down to Connecticut. Of course there is nothing in Conn (sorry to readers from the area) so we must be going to...

Then commenced my guessing, which I assumed was annoying. So at 10:30 they handed me a presend and I unwrapped it to find... a ticket to Promises, Promises! This is a broadway show starring Kristen Chenoweth and Sean Hayes. OMG. If I wasn't in the car I probably would have been jumping up and down and hugging random strangers. Instead, I hugged Kerri which was slightly more normal. Finally, after two more hours in the car, we were on the outskirts of the city. Except we were taking a very strange route. Now, I have been back and forth to NYC a fair amount of times and I never went this way.

My comments included:
"Wow, this is a strange way to go into the city"
"I guess this is a different way than I usually come"

As we were pulling into La Guardia Airport
"Oh, did we make a wrong turn?"
"Are we picking up someone!?"

No one would reply to me! Meanwhile I am thinking, these people are going to kill me with all my questions. Also, who are we picking up? Yes, reader, I am sure you are a little quicker than me and you guessed it. They flew Matthew (the bf) in from DC for the weekend. Ok, this is officially the best gift ever that my parents should never try to top. So know I am totally confused, amazed or something and we arrived at the hotel. We were staying at the Hilton for the night, right by times square.

Now, I won't get you all jealous going into detail about how I saw a hilarious Broadway show, walked aroudn Times Square, marveled at the Christmas tree at Rockafeller center and walked down 5th ave to see all the store down up. This trip also included four great meals, including Burger Heaven, yes I do reccommend. It was such a great weekend and I can't even begin to thank them for such a good time.

I am back to my sweatpants, no make up and baseball cap after a week of glamour. I need to go back to school.

XO

the swim lesson.

Sometime around 6 p.m. last Wednesday night, I decided it would be a good idea to accompany my family to the pool. By family, I mean my step-mom Theresa, and my siblings Ryan, John and Alexis. Now currently the little munchkins are on the Westwood town swim team. However, none of them know how to dive. This presents an issue considering swim instructors and score keepers and judges are all bitches and will disqualify my nine year old sister for diving in like a seal on drugs.

It actually is kind of sad because it really slows them down compared to the other kids. So Theresa hired a kid to teach them to dive, paid him 20 bucks and told him we would be at the town pool at 7:00 pm for open swim.

Considering I have no life (yes, why aren't I blogging more), I decided to join them. Yes, I wasn't thinking I would have to wear a swimsuit, in PUBLIC. I reverted back to my typical attitude when it comes to the Dedham-Westwood-West Roxbury area: Nobody knows me here. If this was Hingham, you would not be seeing my bare body running around the town pool, if we had one. Still, I have some dignity. I rifled through my drawers for a respectable suit, only coming up with the teeny bikinis that I had ordered BEFORE I left for Europe. Smooth one, Camille.

Then I went into Theresa's drawers, where I discovered several halter top one pieces, not the best for all the lap swimming I was going to do (what a joke). I settled on one of those athletic bra sport top thingys and a pair of black bottoms that sort of covered my butt. I put on my sweatpants and we headed to the pool.

The police force (women running this open swim event) made us sign in, pay and shower. Then they lectured us on paying for lessons (that's illegal) and using the diving boards (ok, but no shenanigans) and just general pool crap. All this time, I'm thinking lady, I know I look like I'm caught somewhere between the 80s and the gym, I know how to swim in the pool. I miss the old days at the Hanover YMCA, where you could walk in with ten kids and two pool tags and overrun the place. Did I mention they had the best grilled cheese sandwiches and slushies? I was under a 100 pounds and in colorful one pieces back then.

You may ask, Camille, where is this going? Yeah I don't really know. I'm thinking it was one of those had to be there moments as Lexi and Johnny flung themselves into the water for over an hour. I was amused to say the least.

Basically, since I returned from Europe, I realize that my perhaps my life isn't as exciting to read about.

Wait for these:
I've been duped: NYC for the Weekend.
Six in the Shipyard

XO

the three day diet.

When I finally recovered from the shock of gaining the Europe 14, I knew something had to be done about it. For the most superficial reasons, I like to look good and I do not enjoy my three new friends Po, Roll and Fee Fi Fo Fum, more commonly known as stomach rolls. Secondly, I have to fit into a teeny tiny cheerleading uniform approximately two months from arriving home from Europe. Yes, really teeny tiny. Third, people who are super short, like moi, really show it when they have weight gain. This is why you have noticed my huge but lately. (It makes me think of Bring it On.. but I won't bore you my quoting one of the funniest teen movies of all time, in my opinion).

My first step was to get a gym membership. Well, this was dear old dad's first step. We dragged me over to the planet fitness in my sweatpants and baggy t-shirt (no the butt is not ready for my size small soffe shorts, it's November 22nd and it still isn't but we're getting there). The first day he took me in on his membership but then I was signed up. 73 dollar sign up fee and then 10 bucks a month, not too bad. The PF, as I will probably refer to it most of the time is a franchise that prides itself on the slogan "judgement free zone". However, I find myself judging people more in there than I ever have in my life. Again, I'm working on it.

So I logged a couple of days in the PF, feeling like I was going to die at any moment. Then we had dinner with the Resha's. Over dinner, I explained my current dilemna and Erica suggested the three day diet. Now, the three day diet is a super low calorie, super low sugar diet that spans three days. You might ask, why three days? Try it for twelve hours and you will understand. You will want to gnaw your arm off.

The three day diet:
DAY 1

Breakfast
1/2 Grapefruit or Juice
1 slice toast with 1 Tbsp. Peanut Butter

Lunch
1/2 Cup of Tuna
1 slice toast

Dinner
3 oz. any lean meat
1 cup green beans
1 cup carrots
1 cup vanilla ice cream
1 medium apple

DAY 2
Breakfast
1 egg (any style)
1 slice toast
1 banana

Lunch
1 cup cottage cheese or tuna
5 saltine crackers

Dinner
2 beef franks or hot dogs
1/2 cup carrots
1 banana
1 cup broccoli or cabbage
1/2 cup vanilla ice cream

DAY 3
Breakfast
5 regular saltine crackers
1 oz.(slice) cheddar cheese
1 apple

Lunch
1 hard boiled egg
1 slice toast

Dinner
1 cup tuna
1 cup carrots
1 cup cauliflower
1 cup melon
1/2 cup regular vanilla ice cream


Yeah, kill me right? You can pair anything with tea, water or black coffee. However, don't even think of drinking anything caffeinated or you might die. After two days of torture, I weighed in at six pounds less. Two days later though, I was back up to my original. It can be a good starting point, but it pretty much kills your water weight and tricks you! On the first day, I did not go more than twenty minutes without talking about food. My mother almost killed me.

More to come in my adventures.
By the way, if you want some good laughs about life changes and/or losing weight I recommend

Bitter is the new Black
&
Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big; Or, Why Pie Is Not the Answer

Both are by Jen Lancaster, who will have you peeing your pants with laughter.
Her Blog: http://www.jennsylvania.com/jennsylvania/

Happy T-Day...
I have decided to stay up til 3 am to go to Kmart.
:))

the europe 14.

Now, I planned for a lot of things when I returned home from Europe. I expected to be overwhelmed with how many clothes I have and enjoy sleeping in my own bed. I prepared for the culture shock of once again hearing English in a boston accent and driving my car with fellow massholes.

What did I not prepare for?
The Europe 14.

Many of you have probably heard of the freshman fifteen, those glorious pounds that many college students gain their first year when they are let loose. We carb up, beer up and bacon up in college dining halls. TDR, the Terrace Dining Room, has something I like to call the Hangover Special. First, toast the bread, add scrambled eggs and three slices of bacon. And if you went for that extra drink or two when you shouldn't have, then add the home fries. Next, grab some french toast, usually four slices, and add syrup and powdered sugar. Finish with a bowl of fruit in pudding.

You may be asking, Camille did you eat this meal? Yes, I did, on multiple Saturdays and Sundays. We (a combination of Natasha, Alyssia, Genna and I among others) would rise around 1 pm and hit TDR for about two hours. Sundays I would head to cheerleading practice. That was the key: Cheerleading Practice. 30 hours a week I was forced to exercise. Thus, despite the hangover special that doomed some to inevitable wait gain. I came home Summer 09 looking pretty darn good.

But let's get back to the Europe 14. If you read this blog for the past two months, then you know i ate and drink my way through Europe. Many have asked... so where did all your money go? Wine, cheese, bread, and pastries. Seriously, there were mornings I ate three croissants and chocolate cake for breakfast. Where did I end up? Somewhere along the lines of 137 pounds. Yes, 137. I almost passed out after stepping on the scale, then I stepped on two more, convinced they were wrong. Oh, yeah, they weren't.

Comments from my parents:

Mom: Yeah, I can see it in your face.
Dad: You gained Johnny's baby fat.

Then my dad proceeded to buy me a gym membership. It's free, I'll take it.

The next couple of entries will touch upon my attempt to get back into pre-Europe shape. It includes a three day diet and almost getting jumped at the Dedham Planet Fitness. Trust me, I won't disappoint.

XO
Camille

From Scotland with love

Readers, if there are any left, I have returned to America! Yes, i never thought the moment would come either, but in the final days of October it did. 9 countries and countless pastries later, I landed myself back in B-town. It was strange, waiting in the airport, knowing my mom and Faith would be picking me up in Roxxy, my dear little Volvo. Suddenly, they were pulling up and I realized, that I was indeed back in kansas, though I don't remember ever clicking my heels together three times.

Throughout this blog, one of my faithful readers was my Auntie Karen. In my last part of my trip I went ot edinburgh to visit my cousin Tim, her son. So here is a little bit about the weekend...

After a forced march up these ridiculous steps in my boots with my backpack, we arrived at Tim's dorm. Edinburgh and the university of Edinburgh are both equally beautiful, old and gothic. Its not the ugly kind of gothic though, it's the cool, spooky castle kind and so many of the structures seem so grand wadhed in the charcoal-blackish color. Tim shares a dorm with three other guys and it's set up like an apartment which is nice. I met one of them, the names escape me now of basically everyone I met in Europe. Then we set off for a pub. We met up with a couple of Tim's friends. Tim forced me to drink some type of beer and I struggled to finish a pint. They on the other hand were downing dark beers. Gag! Oh I almost forget! While walking to the pub, I ran into Ben McGuiggan! Ben and I went to high school together and he and his father were walking in front of us when he heard my voice and turned around. Of course, my voice. It was all very strange, especially since I ran into Lauren Canepa in Florence.

Moving on...
That night we went out to a club called Cabaret Voltaire and we were there until three am when they kicked us out. We walked home in the pouring rain to the apartment to get some sleep. The next day we set off to see the sights of Edinburgh. We walked down the Royak Mile, saw Parliament, some statues dedicated to the great warriors of Scotland which sort of look like church altars on steroids. We saw the castle which is pretty big but didn't go inside because it cost 30£. Absurd. I don't know why Edinburgh thinks that's acceptable. At any rate, my sightseeing capacity was lowered to about three hours, so we returned to the apartment. Tim made some pasta, although didnt completely wash the soap of the pan so we slightly feared throwing up later in the day. That night we went to his friends house for a house party. There was a fun group of people there, most of them students from the university. I may or may not have drank a whole bottle of rose wine.

Sunday morning, Tim and I went to a restaurant for a full Scottish breakfast. This consists of two eggs, bacon, ham, beans, home fries, black pudding, a tomato and toast. I'm not kidding. It's amazing, except for black pudding which is kind of weird but I ate some of it anyways. Then we decided that hiking up to Arthurs Seat following this meal would be a good idea. I still claim that Tim was trying to kill me. We were trudging up this mountain with one of his friends and I felt the pastries really catching up to me. Who was this person? A mere 6 months ago I was competing at Cheerleading Nationals and now I couldn't complete a 45 minute hike up a really large hill. Oh, the joys of gaining weight in Europe and killing my lung capacity.

We made it to the top though and the views were breathtaking. The sky was the most beautiful blue and the fields and the golf courses were this rolling green. Seriously words do not do it justice. However, my iPad ran out of room for pictures so I couldn't upload them yet. When I looked out among the skyline, it was hard to imagine this would be my second to last day in Europe. It was like, look what you're seeing and all you have seen, you can go home now, but don't you dare stay away.

Every Sunday night, one of Tim's friends cooks dinner and tonight was Tim's turn. We made burgers and guacamole and it was delicious. We ate california style, when you put guac on the burgers. Go home and try it! Tim had a friend who is from France and she is basically the poster child for France is the best and no one can compare to us. Let's just say it easy to start a fight with her if youu start with "America is better than France because..."

All in all, it was a great weekend and I am so glad I got to see Tim and Edinburgh!

XO

PS... I will continue to blog if you're interested :)

Weekend with my cuz, pt. 2!

Sunday in London was a great day!

We met Alia and Katia for lunch/brunch at a restaurant nearby. They are famous for their full chickens. Seriously, a huge chicken over giant potatoes. Mouthwatering. Although I did not order this. I got Fish n' Chips. I figured it basically originated in the UK (and they sell it everywhere) so I decided on that. It was pretty good, although Legal Sea Foods still stands as my all time favorite.

Next, we headed to the Frieze Art Fair with Alia, who works in the art world doing some very cool job where she knows a lot of people. It is sponsored by Deutsche Bank and held every year in London. It focuses solely on contemporary artists (I learned this is different from modern art), which makes it different from other art fairs. It is huge. It is in a heated tent that is literally as big as a small museum. You could spend days in there, which makes sense that it is open for over a week. Every year, people from the Tate Modern (modern art museum in London) come there the first night and decide which pieces they want to purchase for the museum. Cool.

Alia knows a lot about the fair and the artists, so it was great to have her leading us through.

From Abroad Fall 2010

From Abroad Fall 2010

From Abroad Fall 2010

Later, we walked through some nice parts of London, mainly the shopping district until we reached the apartment.

That night I made some delicious chicken, pasta and peppers in white sauce at Genna's house. I hung out there for awhile before I went back to the apt.

<3
XO

A weekend with my cuz, pt. 1

Slight update... Tonight is my last nit in Europe. Talk about surreal. I promise to catch up on blog by Friday!

On ctober 16th and 17th I spent some QT with Nadine. On Saturday afternoon we embarked upon a sightseeing journey around her area of London. Buckingham Palace is only abut a twenty or so minute walk from her flat we started there. Now, it is very cool that Queenie herself lives there. However the British should have taken a note from the French. Buckingham Palce doesn't even compare to Versailles. The most beautiful part is the gates and the squre in fro of the Palace, in my opinion. We walked all around the Palace by St. James park looking for the palace entrance. We missed the last tour by about ten minutes when we finally found the door that was barely marked.

Next we headed off to Westminster. Sha, Nadine's boyfriend actually attended high school there. When we were walking through the campus and parts of the church, we saw a group of boy students. They were wearing uniform and capes, it was so cute. Westminster is very cool and very old. Inside they have a mini museum of the old dresses and clothes of Kings and Queens. We were unable to go into the church because there was a wedding going on. We did see a huge group of guests and I decided I am making it mandatory for people to wear hats to my wedding. All the women and quite a few of the men had these ridiculously huge hats on.

Right near Westminster we saw Big Ben which was sweet, but not as big as one would think. We walked over to the Rive Thames and could see the London Eye. (you're probably wondering, Camille, all this and you haven't eaten yet? No worries, we had gotten sandwiches and chips from Tesco. Not exactly the crAziest meal, that came later in the night).







After returning home and refreshing, we headed out to dinner. Now, this is more correctly termed a FEAST. We went to Mandaloun, a lebanese restaurant nearby. First we ordered enough appetizers for four people, not two. There was lebnah, hummus, tabouli, olives, kebbah, and loaves of Syrian bread. Then we proceeded to get four kabobs and rice. I was so full but the food was so good and I had been missing it so much that I couldn't help myself. We basically waddled to the movie theatre, where we had tickets to Social Network.

I definitely recommend this movie to everyone! It gives you a very different insight to the history of facebook, what made it even better was that Nadine knew some of the characters in real life! I was dying... First the champagne party, now the celebrities. Apparently one of her friends form New York went to school with the Winkelvoss twins. They claim that Mark Zuckerberg, founder of facebook, stole the idea from them. That is one of two main plot lines in the movie. So go forth and watch! I always claim that Facebook is secretly the root of all of problems and it certainly spawned from a troubled background.

More to come on Sunday spent with Nadine and friends!
XO

Champagne glasses and glasses made of ICE

I was flying out of Charoes de Gaulle on Friday morning at 8:45. Luckily I made friends with an Australlian couple who was taking the same flight and said I could follow them there. We were meeting at 6 am sharp. It's pretty easy to get to CDG via metro, and they only charge you 9 euro. Word from the wise, always factor in an extra 20-25 dollars into your flight price for getting to and from the airport. Trust me, there is no way to avoid, unless you loan on hitch hiking.

Apparently I snooze through the one hour flight with my mouth open, classy. I followed the Australlians on to the bus which takes you to the train which takes you to Kings Cross. One metro ride later and a one hour time difference and I was at Victoria Station. A police man saw me staring at the Mao on my iPad and asked me "What can I do for you love?" Someone speaking English to me? I love London. He directed towards Nadine's flat. For those of you not playing the home game, Nadine is my cousin and she moved ot London in August for work. I arrived at her flat and waited for Spencer, the doorman who let me in and showed me how to use all her complicated keys.

Then I relaxed. You cannot help yourself when you enter the first place that feels homey in a long time. Nadine's apartment is so cute and so adult. I chilled for a bit then got a new sim card for my phone and picked up some groceries. I made a grilled cheese which was awesome and then fell into a coma for three hours. I woke up to Nadine arriving home at about 7pm. We chatted for awhile and discussed plans for the night. We decided on Chinese take out, something I have not had in forever so I was excited. Nadine's boyfriend (who goes by Sha, I love it) has a feigned Kostas who was having a birthday party at a local club. I decided to go there to meet Nadine's friends and then meet up with Genna and Elsha at Ice Bar.

Now, Nadine didn't warn me that we would be attending an adult party. Seriously, there was a guy serving champagne in glasses. The party was located on the top floor of the club, so it was private. I felt very adult and it was a change from what I am used to. I met a bunch of her friends and Sha, who was definitely a social butterfly. I hung out for a bit then I grabbed a cab to Ice Bar. My friend Elsha happened to be in London for the week with her boyfriend since his parents just moved there. Basically, three out of my four girlfriends from college were in the same time zone and in London, it was very strange. Genna's flat mate Mimi and her adorable British boyfriend were also in attendance.

Ice bar is pretty self explanatory. After you register online and check in at your selected time, they bundle you up. Seriously. They put you in these capes with hoods that are lined with fur and have gloves dangling off of them. You also keep your jacket on and rejoice in the fact that you're wearing jeans and boots. So the bar is made of ice... And so are the walls, the sculptures, the chairs and the glasses. You get a complimentary drink from buying your 15£ ticket so we got those first and commenced taking a gazillion pictures.


Top: Scott, Mimi, Dave
bottom: Genna and I


Mimi, Genna and I


For all of you who missed my entries in Berlin, this is Genna. We are in love with each other to the point of where it is strange. Since Matt (the BF) and I will be close to each other at school this Spring, Genna and he have drawn up a custody agreement to share me. I am flattered and only slightly disturbed.

Well, that night I returned to Genna's house with her which is very nice. However we almost murdered one of her flatmates for bringing a rowdy crew there form 4am to 6am. I am sure her program would frown upon violence though.

XO

P.S. I come home on Tuesday... So I will try to wrap up my blog entries by the end of the week. I am sure I will write some on my loooooooong plane ride back to America.

The end of the affair

Ok, so I am very mad at myself for getting super far behind on my blog. I have taken this later part of the afternoon in Edinburgh to catch up. (now, this may seem a little lazy but Tim made me eat a full Scottish breakfast and then hike up a mountain today. So it's deserved. And yes, I will get to the mountain eventually).

A brief history of my last hours in Paris...

I decked to keep with ym walking tour and did a forced march down to Saint Chappelle. It took almost two hours, which is slightly embarrassing. I think I am unable to keep up a fast pact without following momma bear around NYC. The people at Saint Chappelle would not let me in for free though I claimed to be under eighteen. I do not think anyone should be charged for going into a church. However they are doing a huge reconstruction project on the stain glassed windows so I didn't feel as bad. Plus the angry French lady gave me student discount. Inside, the church is really small but the windows are beautiful. The ones they have cleaned and put back in their places ajd literally gleaming while the ones on the other side seem as if they have not been touched since they were built 1000 years ago. Not nearly as cool as Notre Dame, but I still recommend it. You can read the stained glasses windows to essentially read the story of the bible. I tried this, it's not easy, and then moved on.



I grabbed a panini, a piece of cake and a lemonade at this little cafe and then headed to the Louvre. Of course, the louvre, a ridiculously old building is marked by the glass pyramid, which is rather modern. I didn't realize you get to walk into the pyramid to get to the exhibits. Like you go underground. I was quite fascinated by this. After buying my ticket for a whopping 9.50 (I also believe all museums should be free. Apparently I am only willing to pay for food, desserts and plane tickets), I headed for Italian paintings. Now you may interpret this as me wanting to see the Mona Lisa. No dear readers. I think the Mona Lisa is quite ugly. Actually the feelings I harbor towards the Mona Lisa are the same as the ones my dear friend Genna, studying abroad in London, feels towards Stonehenge. We don't get what the big deal is. I recognized several paintings in this grand hallway, which made me feel pretty good about myself. I forgot that the Virgin and babies by Cimabiu which I studied in Art History was located here, so I was pleased to see that. Also this painting that symbolizes Neo-Classicism which was a prompt for a DBQ in high school was there. (I will not bore you with details for what a DBQ is, but thinking about them gives me hives.)


Outside the Louvre

Then I enter this room where people are crowded around this wall. I'm like "ohh... What's this?" to my dismay, it was the tiny Mona Lisa. Of course, I still felt compelled to photograph it and then move swiftly along. I browsed the Spanish paintings and the French sculpture gardens for awhile and then went to Ancient Greece and Egypt. After this experience I am starting to doubt there is anything left in Egypt. There are about twenty sarcophaguses in this one room. There is also a mummy, which has to be on the top ten coolest things I have seen. Currently, I think the Alps still have the number one spot, or maybe the Eiffel Tower. Let me just tell you, there were not a bunch of tourists hoarded around three thousand year old dead guy and they were truly missing out.



After this, I spent some time reading in the sculpture garden outside. I sipped my caramel macchiato (yes, I paid way too much for it) and read Twilight... What else? I knew the sun was setting in an hour so I went to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night. To pass the time before the light show, I talked to this kid who had a Boston Red Sox hat on. We bonded over a mutual love for Boston. Now, light show is a strong term for what they do at the Eiffel Tower. It basically just sparkles on the hour for about five minutes. I thought music would accompany it, so I was slightly miffed. Regardless, it was getting cold so I began the march back to the hostel, only stopping to pee and buy groceries for din din. I didn't get back until ten and packed up the pack to be ready to leave for London. I was rising at five!


Ooooh shiny

Anyways, those were my three entries devoted to Paris, my love.

XO

All this and they didn't bathe regularly?

I spent Wednesday, October 13th in Versailles.

Fortunately, no one in France stamped my Eurail pass so I paid for six days and was about to take my seventh. I would explain how this works, but it basically means I went to Versailles for free. Cool.

When I arrived in Versailles, or rather a train station about a twenty minute walk away I expected a golden brick road to lead me up to the gates. Instead there were several cafes and stores and an outdoor market. I felt like saying: Yo, where's the king at? I asked and got pointed in the right direction. Oh yeah, there's the huge gold gate and palace.

Versailles cannot be explained in words. After you purchase a ticket that includes all the palace grounds and an audio guide for 18 euro, I headed in. I will say, Versailles is freaking cool. You walk through all their bedrooms and rooms for parties and greeting the king. The ceilings are all painted with Gods and Goddesses, because apparently the Kings and Queens of France viewed themselves in such a way. Also, everything is painted in shiny, shiny gold. It's actually quite obscene.

href="http://goo.gl/photos/bSRq0MG1ZZ" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:1em">

King Louis's bed... sweet.

href="http://goo.gl/photos/mfLDuvXzs0" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right;margin-bottom:1em;margin-left:1em">
Hall of Mirrors... very famous apparently?

After this, I walked through the royal gardens. I don't know if they are actually royal, but I am assuming so. Literally, I think it looked exactly like this three hundred years ago, or at least I hope so. Its beautifully maintained and it is HUGE. You can walk down through the garden and it takes like 30 minutes or so to reach Trianon, Marie Antoinette's palace. It's a lovely walk, if you are wearing sneakers. I was in flat and I almost died on some of the cobblestone streets.


Gardens. Very sun out.


Sweet statue. Would like it in my back yard.

Trianon was basically a gift to Marie Antionette to have something to decorate because the rest of Versailles was already finished. She needed a project. Oh the life. So she went around decorating this place and its slightly more modern. The curtains are gorgeous and the outside is all pink marble. Hello, so jealous. But this leads me to the point of... all this and they didn't bathe regularly?



XO

Holding Hands

Some photo genius at work

The First Date.

I wish I had blogged while I was in Paris, because the feelings I had on that first day were much fresher nearly a week ago. I began my Tuesday morning in Paris with a sweet hostel breakfast of croissant, roll, jam, cereal and three glasses of OJ. Even the hostel croissants taste delicious. I think the French must consume them in tens of thousands per day, if I were to estimate. (By the way, Answers.com says the French eat 15 tons a year. This is 30,000 pounds, or 480,000 ounces. An average size croissant is 5 oz so that means they eat about 96,000/year or 263/day which is just not possible. I mean I ate 2 a day, or more...)

Yes, I just did research for da blog.

Moving on to my journey from Montmarte to the Arc de Triumph. I wandered down some streets for about 45 minutes until I hit the Champs de Elyssee. I think it will win for most beautiful street. Oh yeah, I decided I am handing out awards at the end of my trip... best hostel, most beautiful building, favorite river etc. All the trees are covered in christmas tree lights, however they do not light them up at night, much to my dismay. I think its not in season right now or something. I walked up until I saw the Arc de Triumph. This lovely monument is surrounded by the circle of death, more commonly called a rotary or traffic circle.


View from Sidewalk

You actually have to use an underground tunnel to get to the Arc. I was very happy about this, considering I had narrowly avoided getting hit by cars, bikes, buses and trams for the past month and a half and was not looking forward to traversing the circle of death. Inside the arc, a lot of cities of France are listed and I spotted Toulouse! It was really beautiful, but I was ready to move on to the Eiffel Tower.

I walked for about 30 minutes and suddenly it was in view. I sort of had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't having a really vivid dream and imagining that I was backpacking through Europe and was now in Paris, in front of the Eiffel Tower. It is a great view there overlooking the river and a Palace of sorts. Of course, there are one million shady guys trying to sell you the tower in mini form or keychain form. Annoying. Oh hey, pretty lady, one euro. No thanks pal. (Well, I may have bought a few, they are 5 for 1 euro after all).


Yes, I am aware that the foreigner that took this, did not get the whole Eiffel tower. Oy.

Next I grabbed lunch at my favorite French (chain) cafe, Brioche Duree and ate lunch on a bench on the Champs de Elysee. I walked it off for about 45 minutes down the street to the Louvre. Wow, that place is huge. It's by far the most intimidating museum I have ever seen. I was saving it for Thursday so I proceeded to walk down the river towards Notre Dame.


You can see Saint Chapelle and Notre Dame if you look really close. They are somewhat in the middle.

There are a lot of vendors selling posters and postcards and old book along this section of the river, including very cool Moulin Rouge poster. 3 for 5 euro, I'm sold. When I finally got to Notre Dame, the outside was very intriguing because I had seen it in pictures and in a certain Disney Movie (that was the them of my 5th [?] birthday). When I went inside though, that's when I fell in love. It is simpler than some of the other churches. The altar is not elaborate and it is not the biggest church that I have seen. The stain glass is amazing. The whole feel to the church is simply different, I can't even explain it and pictures cannot do it justice. Typically, I cannot spend more than 20-30 minutes in the churches, because they do blend together after awhile. I was in Notre Dame, taking pictures, sitting and writing in my journal for an hour. I would have stayed if I didn't have more on the agenda. Notre Dame was Paris and my first kiss. (If you haven't noticed my little relationship-Paris parallel, you will now).


Outside


Inside

Next, I tried very hard to find Saint Chapelle. I will warn travelers to Paris that it is inside the Justice Palace place gates and the door is not really clearly marked. Of course, there was a concert there and it was closed for set up at 4:30. I guess I hit my sightseeing limit for the dia and decided to head back to the hostel. This included a two hour walk, partly because its about 4 miles away and also because I tend to get distracted.

More to come...
XO

Paris, an introduction

Well, my first views of Paris were slightly dismal. Your typical train station is by no means thrilling or exciting. In fact, they all pretty much look the same, which is what I expected when I arrived at MontParnasse. However, after exiting car Z, the caboose of the train, the entire train was boarded by police and military personal. Guys were walking around with machine guns, I'm like "sorry, did we take a turn and end up in the ME?" So I put on the jets and hustled to get away from the train. With all the hype about attacks and what not, I was going to have to board the metro.

If you have ever been to Paris, you know this is a feat. There are 16 underground lines, all in different colors. I have to take lines 13 and 2, so there was a transfer involved. In all honesty, the metro map is beautiful, but for €1.70 a pop, I'll walk from now on. Anyways, I pop up from the metro and there is the Moulin Rouge. Yes, the real one, except with a new windmill. This basically translates to: my hostel is located in Montmarte and there are a ton of people out and about. I was pleased about both these things. I asked a cop for directions and found the plug inn hostel.



The plug inn, although expensive, was great from the start. Plus, I had two argentinians roommates and a British one, all of whom were hilarious. There was some Spanish flying around, but as usual, it was nothing impressive. I went to bed around midnight so I could be up early for breakfast.

More exciting Paris travels to come!!

Observations

1. The French don't seem to drink anything. Seriously, they put a tiny pitcher of water on the table and call it a day.

2. They are always well dressed to the point of where staring at them is unavoidable and doing it for too long is overwhelming.

3. They like their cafes... A lot.

4. Their coffee sucks.

5. Walking and eating/drinking on the go is unacceptable. Good luck finding a to go coffee that isn't from star bucks.

6. Men do their hair. And wear fancy shoes.

7. When the people want change, the people come together...

Stories about le greve.

This weekend, Leigh's host dad warned us that French transportation would be striking on Tuesday. Apparently this was going to be a huge strike since France gov was threatening to cut pensions. So they all decided to not come into work for a couple of days. This meant I was leaving for Paris on Monday afternoon instead of Tuesday morning. And boy, when they strike, THEY STRIKE.

They were rung every fifth train on some of the Paris lines, which roughly translates to a train every 15-20 minutes for people who are used to one every three minutes in rush hour. This is why I walked in Paris, I avoided this three day chaos. Not to mention, a ton of airlines had strikes so our hostel was full up for the week with people waiting for the next flight out.

While I admire their ability to take action, it was slightly inconvenient. Although it gave me extra time in Paris!

Le'opera and love for the Von Trapps

My final real day in Toulouse....

On Sunday, we went to the opera! Now, I have never been to the opera and this one was going to be in Italian. It was La Boheme, fortunately, and Rent the Musical is loosely based on it. We read a synopsis anyways and headed out, in the rain, to the theatre.

After enjoying a ham and cheese grilled sandwich, very French thing, we got in line for student rush. This is a process where one gets in line about 15-30 minutes before the show starts to get tickets that no one else purchased. We were sitting about 20 rows back in the orchestra for 10€, which usually costs 70€. Not bad, considering I did not even show my student ID (which I forgot in America, no i don't want to talk about it). Well, I did not fall asleep during the opera, but it was close. Don't get me wrong, the music was beautiful and the main characters were quite captivating, I was just really tired and lost. The opera was subtitled in French so my companions were laughing and following along and I sort of just knew the gist. It was a solid first opera nonetheless.

After grabbing a shake and splitting a gran frite in McDs, Leigh and I slopped home in the rainstorm. We were set to have another meal with the Von Trapps, yes they enjoyed me that much. I was secretly thrilled. We had lasagna, which normally I don't like but it was pretty good. Then dessert came. We had popcorn, canned pears and cookies from Belgium. so random! But of course, a delicious combo. Camille is basically me wince she is the oldest of five and serves all the kids when the food comes (they are aged 6-11 I believe). After dinner, they were flipping through a photo album of the whole family hiking up the Pyrennes. The day we davids hike up a mountain, I am video taping and selling it to ABC.

XO

The American Friend

On Friday, around 1pm we headed out to sight see. Leigh Harlow, my lovely tour guide brought me to two churches. The first was Saint Etienne and the second was Saint Sernin. the latter has quite an interesting story behind it, which I learned from my awesome guide. Saint Sernin was living in Toulouse trying to get people to become catholics and angered a bunch of pagans who dragged him through the city, killing him. They erected the church in his honor and it is very old. I almost like it when they don't refurbish any of the old stuff. I like to see how old it truly is.


St. Sernin

We returned home a little on the early side in order to be ready for dinner with the host family. Leigh lives with the real life version of the Von Trapp family, I wish I was kidding. There is mom and dad with four daughters and one son. Of the names, i remember Camille was the oldest, then Jean, Columbe, Izhar and Pierre. However, spelling is probably very far off, with the exception of my French name twin!

We had a version of Shepard's pie that was basically ground beef with mashed potatoes piled on top. It was delicious, but it did not stop there. Then they brought out the cheese and the crepes. Christine, Leigh's host mom, must have made 40 crepes and the kids were going nuts. Of course, nutella, jam, sugar and lemon juice were present to make the crepes taste delicious. My dear friend Jean ate 6 and I will admit I ate three. It was a hilarious dinner because I didn't speak French and Camille was trying out a few English phrases for me. Leigh was literally shocked that so much English was present. I was impressed by her French!

After dinner, we met up with the Dickinson kids to see a movie. it was only 4€ to see Wall Street and I am pretty excited since I saw the original one with Michael Douglas and a super young Charlie Sheen. It was very good, but confusing despite my business background.

*

Saturday was an awesome day in Toulouse! First of all, I did laundry and had a chocolate croissant while waiting. Pastries and clean clothes go together so well. I had literally run out of underwear so I was wearing my soffe shorts under my sweatpants, which is totally unacceptable in French culture. I doubt they have a word for sweatpants, it probably roughly translates to devil incarnate for pants.

Anyways, for some reason, we were eating again shortly thereafter. We went to SLD with Alex and Doob, two of Leigh's friends in the Dickinson program. The French guys who work there basically knew them by name. I got a croissant with ham and cheese, which is very French. Then we headed to Rue Alsace Lorraine where pedestrians basically rule the street and cars attempt to drive down it. These are my favorites avenues in Europe, especially because nothing like this exists at home (daddio used to say they would send you to the can for 10-15 if you j-walked in DC). Anywho, we went into a real live shopping mall which was overwhelming since we had acquired Toot and her friend Emily as well. I was barely able to sightsee in a group, let alone shop with a gaggle of girls.

I will also mention, that shopping in France is overwhelming. French women dress so well all the time I find myself staring at them and wanting to replicate every piece of their wardrobe. I warn you all, I will be attempting to do this when I return to the state and o have more than 20 pieces of clothing in my possession. After shopping for a bit, we went to the Flowers Cafe which Leigh swore had the best pastries she has had so far. While they were in the pricey side, the banana milkshake and molleux de chocolat I have had thus far. It was all very French of course, enjoying the afternoon at an outside cafe with friends. If you couldn't tell, I am obsessed with cafe culture, like it's out of hand (kind of like my slight obsession with twilight which has lead to me rereading the book already, whatever).

That night we went to Nick's for dinner. Someone had produced a recipe for ratatouille and mixed it in with pasta which was quite good. I also had my first "dinner" crepe which was composed of ham and cheese and was quite delicious. Then came the dessert crepes! I made my own and I was quite proud of my crepe making ability and plan to bring the skill back to the states, I put a small layer of nutella and a layer of raspberry jam. It was scrumptious. I may have had two.



Later, Nick, Bobby, Leigh and I headed to the college bar district of town. This was an interesting display of French culture. The streets were packed with people, smoking of course, and chatting away in French. We hung out in a bar and one of Leigh's friends from class met us there (and bought us a pitcher! Yay to the French!). It was getting late (or early) so we walked back to leigh's house because public transportation stops runing around 1 am, an anomaly in Europe. I will admit to eating a kebab on the way home and a chocolate croissant, but it took us like a whole hour! No judgement.

To be continued again...

They even rage differently

Toulouse

I arrived in Toulouse around 2:00 pm on Thursday. Leigh embraced me as I stepped off the train from Lyon. It was a beautiful reunion! She took me to the house she is staying at for the year. Its on the outskirts of the city, but very cute. There is a front door that leads to the main house and a door to the side that leads to Leigh's room. She has her own bathroom and a little kitchenette, so not a bad deal! The best part is the vole. These are the shades that come down and block out all light. I literally could have slept for days.

We hung out and didn't stop talking for the next three hours before Leigh needed to go to class. I did not attend this one, but rather updated my blog and chilled on Capitol for awhile. This is the main square in Toulouse which holds the beautiful Capitol building, a MCy Ds with free WiFi, and several more expensive restaurants. After Leigh finished her class, we met up with a few of her friends and headed to Ana's for dinner. Ana was Leigh's roommate freshman year and is studying in Toulouse for the semester. 1-3 times a week a bunch of the students in the program (a total of 17) get together and make dinner. All of them are in home stays so they had an allotted 3 dinners a week with their new families.

About twelve people were there and we were enjoying quite a few bottles of wine. The bread and cheese was flying off the table and I wondered if we would consume more baguettes or bottles. Finally we settled down to a huge bowl of pasta, some cooked vegetables, and of course more bread and wine. It was great to be around students as usual as the occasional French term was thrown around at the table. A lot of people asked me questions about my trip and I was just as interested to know what it's like to actually assimilate into a culture. They all admitted to struggling with french and not speaking it nearly enough. My friend vocabulary was expanding rapidly in it's early stages!

Leigh wanted to go to a club event held by her university so we walked about ten minutes down the road to this place. Of course, france differs from America a lot in terms of clubs. Everyone just dances and hangs out. It's not so much a clusterwad of people as it is at home. Upstairs there are tables that anyone can sit at (unlike DC, where you have to pay). A bunch of people from Leigh's classes were there so I met some French students! Another thing about clubs there, is you don't really dress up. Like jeans and a shirt is totally sufficient, which I would not be could dead in during DC night life.

We arrived home and I slept for what seemed like days, but only until 12 when Leigh was returning from class.

To be continued...

Yes, I am constantly eating food in France

Remember to scroll down to read previous entries about Lyon!

Well of course the day started off in a cafe, but once Liz got out of class, we chose a different lunch location. We purchased two baguettes, some salami, a family wheel of Brie, some desserts and a water bottle. Then we met her friends down by the Rhonne. In Europe, I have noticed that the sides of rivers don't just drop off into the river. You can walk down steps to walk along the river and just hang out there, at sea level. We were sitting in the sun just enjoying our little French feast and it was wonderful.


On the Rhonne!


Rhonne

After this, I embarked upon an interesting part of my journey called Camille goes to French class. Now, I was wearing my cute red and white striped dress from Urban with my v neck grey shirt over it and my vote flats. let's just say I dressed like I fit in, while I was lacking of knowledge of the language. I took a seat in the back, since Liz and her five friends insist upon sitting as close to the professor as possible. It was a two hour lecture on French/European history in 16th and 17th centuries. Well, while I know what happened then, it didn't help much.

I actually listened to the professor for the first 45 minutes, while playing sudoku of course. He was very animated so it was amusing to watch him babble on about Louis XII and Richelieu. What amazed me most about the lecture was how many kids were taking notes. Literally, the entire lecture of 180+ kids were feverishly writing or typing around me. I wondered if they knew I was writing in my blog instead of taking notes in French. Regardless, I was watching their laptops to see facebook pop up, and only saw it happen once! I was shocked. Come to a lecture at American University and you will find exactly the opposite. It is the reason I have to bring notebooks to class. Did I mention they are not allowed to bring coffee to class? Not like you would be able to find one in a to go cup.

Post class, I informed Liz that I felt like I just ran a marathon and I didn't even have to take notes. She said the whole process is mentally draining. I told her I was greatly amused by the prof and his yelling at the two students who left the lecture half way through. I told her that if I left my only excuses would be: "Je fam! croissant! Aurevoir!" this means something along the lines of "I'm hungry! Croissaint! goodbye!"

Liz and I changed at her house and grabbed our cameras. The sun was setting and we wanted to take pictures at Fourviere, the church on the hill. Liz taught me how to open the shutter on my camera, which essentially means I let the camera soak in natural light to take a picture. It takes some practice for the photos to come out clear but they look pretty cool if you can find the right settings.


Church after dark


Skyline



On the way down the Funicolare, a boy next to us asked if we were Americans. Of course, duh. His name is Ben and he is between college and a job backpacking around Europe like me. He is doing a month and started in the north to work his way down, not a bad a idea. Anyways, he came along with us to Vieux Lyon to have dinner. We got a meal deal again and I had a Salade Lyonnaise which is lettuce, other veggies, bacon and a poached egg. Yes, so delicious. We also may or may not have enjoyed three pots of wine. This is just a fancy word for the house wine and is roughly smaller than a bottle. It's not a cauldron or anything people, we do have morals or whatever.

We parted ways with Ben and Liz and I headed up to get a good nights sleep. It was so good to see that she is in such a great city for the whole year! Also, I know that she is comfortable there, which is true peace of mind. Best of luck to her on those French classes!!

XO

Veal and boats (Intrigued, are we?)

I have not had internet on the iPad, that is why multiple entries are being posted at once... Don't miss out on all parts of Lyon and Toulouse!!

I realized I had not slowed down on most of my trip, so when Liz headed to class, I headed to a cafe. It's a huge part of French culture, so I figured I had to partake. Three croissants and three hours later I emerged. I had updated my facebook photos and written in my blog and my journal. I finally replied to several emails since I hadn't had Internet on my iPad since Prague. It felt good to sit and chill and of course, people watch. I was even asked questions in French, proving I was blending in at least when my mouth was closed and not speaking American English.

I walked along the river Rhonne for awhile, which is the better river of the two and has beautiful rivers arching over it. The sun struggled to break through the clouds and I was able to shed my jacket and scarf while I walked around. I met up with Liz shortly after and was eating a chinese food box of tortellinis, great invention by Pasta a Mezzo.

We went upstairs to the apartment with all intentions of changing and going to the park. Three hours later, I was waking up from my first nap in Europe and by far one of the best naps I have ever taken. The park would have to wait! Instead Liz and I skyped with Leigh briefly and then tried to put credit on my phone, epic fail as usual.

Around 8pm we sat down with Liz's host family for dinner. There was a salad and a pot of something. It included canelle, which is basically smushy bread, mushrooms, a white sauce and what Liz thinks was some sort of veal. The next course was bread and cheese, which is when I fell in love with Brie. Its so delicious that there is no comparison with my usual Land of Lakes White American cheese. Then they brought out dessert which was chocolate ice cream and some biscuit things. Now you may be thinking this was a lot of food. There were seven people at this table, and there would have been three times as much if the Davids were sitting to dinner. This must be why the French are so skinny. Us davids on the other hand run around after each other all day long, which explains why we are not huge.

That night, everyone wanted to go to the boats. There are tons of small ferries anchored to the side of the Rhonne River that serve dinner or function as bars at night. The bartender, Mick from Dublin, gave us free drinks because I told him Liz turned twenty one last week. We hung out on the deck outside on the river and I wondered why America a doesn't have cool stuff like this. Everyone was very laid back, hanging out with friends and the music was pretty chill. I remember Maroon 5 being very popular when one of their songs came on.

All in all, top night.

Bienvenue a Lyon... Where I began my ten day love affair with france

Since I can't seem to stay anywhere longer than three days, I kept to tradition and headed to Lyon on Sunday, October 3rd. My friend from high school, Liz Marjollet is studying at a Lyonnaise University there for the entire year. She takes a full course load in the French language and is living with a French family. I am impressed. Even when I was going to study abroad, I was going to take half my classes in English. I was never keen on trying to understand finance in any other language but English.

Anyways, Liz met me at the train station and we took the metro a couple of stops to Bellecaur. It's the main square in Lyon that used to hold buildings but now is an empty square with a statue of Louis XIII in the middle. Liz's family has an apartment right over the square. In her room, there is a lofted section with two mattresses where we slept. I was so tired from the three trains that I spent about 12 hours on that day. For some reason I can't fall asleep. I think it's because I have a feeling I will wake up and all my possessions will be gone. (Or something like that...)

The next day Liz did not have class so we did a little sightseeing. Before commencing this though, we headed to Paul's, a cafe off of Bellacaur. I got a croissant, a molleux de chocolat and a coffee (or what the French think a coffee is, basically a shot of espresso with a teeny bit of milk). Now croissants in France do not compare to anything else. I could eat ten big ones in one sitting. However if you really want a slice of heaven then there's the molleux de chocolat, which is a cross between a chocolate torte and pure happiness. I was tempted to get another one, but I do have some self restraint.

After enjoying the cafe culture, we went into the old section of Lyon, which has been there since the Middle Ages. The buildings and streets, and of the course the church, are all very old and built into the hillside along the Sonne, one of the rivers cutting through Lyon. There are a lot of secret passageways, which have a French name that I don't remember, that connect several of the streets. Vieux Lyon is the main street there and is the most touristy area in Lyon. There are a lot of restaurants and bars and a few souvenir shops.


Stain glass window from inside church near Vieux Lyon

We took the cable car up the hill to the Roman Ruins. This is the thing about Roman Ruins, somehow they are everywhere. I feel like every place I have been in my life has some trace of the Romans. Here in Lyon, there was an amphitheater completely intact where they still hold outdoor concerts in the summer. How cool is that?! The weather was turning ominous on the hill so we boarded the cable car again to Fourviere. (I should mention that nothing I write in French is spelled correctly).


In front of the amphitheater

Fourviere is an open square on a hill top that holds a beautiful church. It overlooks all of Lyon. At night they light up the church and the mini Eiffel tower next to it and you can see it shining on the hill top from downtown Lyon. Apparently, this is a city known for it's lights and it's true. They light up anything they can at nighttime, like liz's university building. We got a good look at the city but it had started to rain so we headed back down the hill.


Back into the cafes, we got a lunch special which included a ham, egg and cheese quiche, a mixed berries tart, a lemonade and a coffee. Apparently, quiches and tarts are a big thing here, so I had to sample. Liz and I did a little shopping since I needed some leggings, and then retreated to the apartment. It was nice to lounge around a bit before getting ready to meet Liz's friends for dinner.

We went to a typical Lyonnaise restaurant nearby and got the menu option, which included an appetizer, entree, and dessert for 14€. Add three pots of wine to that and I paid 19€ for a whole lot of meal. I tried ratatouille which comes with some salad and is served under a poached egg, yeah random. Then I had a piece of beef with potatoes and some pumpkin polenta thing which was gross. The dessert was delicious and the company was wonderful. Most of liz's friends are British or Australian because it is very hard to make friends with the French students here. Their accents are the best to listen to, but you do have to pay attention to what they are saying since there is a lot of slang.

That night Liz and I watched Music and Lyrics, a great movie, and then I passed out!

Saturday in Berlin... More time loving Genna B

Saturday

On Saturday, Genna and I had a full day ahead of us. We walked through and art gallery which held several aspiring artists and artisans. I bought another ornament that did not scream "this is from Berlin", but was super cute nonetheless. We were headed for the Jewish History Museum, but got distracted by food again. We stopped for bruschetta and a caprese salad and then went the the museum. The museum is deeply connected to its architecture. Meaning the man who designed it put a lot of thought into it. You start in the basement and there are three intersecting hallways, called the Axis of Exile, the Axis of Evil and the Axis of *******. Listed along the hallways are places. For example, the axis of evil, the names of different camps are listed and in the Axis of Exile, the various places where Jews escaped to are listed.

Then you head to the second floor (or our version of a third floor). This contains old history of the Jews in Germany. It is very interactive and it helped that I was visiting with a real live Jew who knows the Hebrew alphabet and told me stories about the Torah. We added wishes to the peace tree and listened to stories about religious stories and myths. There was a very interesting portion on women as well. We walked through the more modern history a little quicker to get to the special exhibit on Forced Labor.

What surprised me most about this was that the focus was not on Jews. They spoke about politicians and Germans who were against Hitler and were some of the first forced into labor camps. The severity was not as extreme as the Jews, but several people still died. We learn about the Holocaust so much in school, as well as other parts of European history, but it is not the same as when you are in Germany where people either fled the country or died if they were Jewish.

After this, we headed to the Holocaust Memorial which is off of the main street in Berlin. Not to be disrespectful or anything, but this memorial is terrible. It is 2700 rectangular prisms of various sizes made out of concrete. It looks like a maze and you can climb over and wander through it. There is no explanation as to why this is the memorial, only that they wanted it to be big and in a public place. Below the memorial is a mini museum you can walk through for free. Even Genna the Jew was sorely disappointed by the Holocaust memorial in GERMANY. After this, we grabbed dinner and headed back to the hostel.



I got to skype with Matthew and the rest of the Falkenham family. I have determined that name is of some German origin, as restaurants and hotels in this region have the name Falken. There aren't as lucky to have added the "ham".

Later Genna and I grabbed a quick drink at Susan's where we discovered the owner was one of the waitresses. Yeah, I was backpacking through Europe and Susie was 23 and running her own awesome restaurant. I felt slightly inferior. We returned home early because I had to repack my bag, which takes a solid 45 minutes if I want to fit everything in it. I am going to have to buy another one soon.

Needless to say, although Germany was never high on my list, I am very glad G and I spent the weekend there! I look forward to our reunion in London next week.

XO

BG with GB: Berlin, Germany with Genna Bellezza, dear god

At approximately 1pm on October 1st, Genna's cab pulled up in fro of Hostel Aloha. I greeted her by running down the cab to make sure it stopped and jumping in it to hug her. Genna and I haven't seen each other since June, which is way too long because we are attached at the hip during the school year. Typically, we are eating somewhere (and it's not healthy at all) or I am yelling at her to do accounting homework with me. There have been some stressful nights "running the numbers" so neither of us fails out of the class that is now the basis for my major. Usually though we drive Roxxy around the city with the windows down blasting ridiculous music as we attempt to find new restaurants to try.

Anyways, it was a joyous reunion and after checking into the hostel, we headed into central Berlin. Of course, being Genna and myself, we had to stop for food somewhere. We managed to polish off two oven brick baked pizzas at a little Italian restaurant not far from our hostel.

Over the river into Museum island, which is not exactly an island. It's a cluster of beautifully designed museums.


In front of fountain in museum island

We proceeded to walk down Under Linden (or something like that) as it is the main preserved street in Berlin. The buildings, like most in Europe are ornately decorated and surprisingly not ridden with bullet holes or anything like that. I was a little disappointed. One thing I find very different about Berlin is the size of the streets. People literally run when the green light to walk comes on. It's almost impossible to cross the whole street in one green light. To be honest, it's kind of annoying. I mean the longest street you cross in DC is maybe six lanes across, but you have enough time and the clock tells you how long you have. In Berlin, it's the equivalent of crossing a highway in Georgie, like ten or twelve lanes.

Anyways, I digress. Genna and I came upon Berlin's version of the Arc de Triumph and then the Octoberfest tents. Now, I must explain that Berlin conducts Octoberfest in a much different way than Munich. In Munich, people sleep in tents or couch surf or stay in hostels that must be booked very far in advance. The whole event is based around different tents selling beer, yeah not my scene. In Berlin, there are tents selling alcohol but also lots of food and some carnival stands. We wandered around, rode the ferris wheel and ate a ridiculously large waffle. No syrup so we had to substitute with powdered sugar, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Yeah my arteries are basically clogged after this trip.


On the ferris wheel


view from the ferris wheel, Octoberfest tents

Later, we wandered far and wide to find another section of the Berlin Wall. Yes, very far and wide because i got us lost in the forest for a good hour. Well, it was more like a park but i was totally holding the map the wrong way... This part of the wall had descriptions of Germany pre war, when Hitler was coming to power. The pictures they had blown up were very eerie. It's always worse when you are just in the square and at once it held thousand of Nazi supporters. Again, I think all these sights are set up as reminders - don't do it again Germans, or others.

It was getting late so we trekked back to the hostel to shower and change. We headed out to my favorite place, The Louisiana Kid. We got some great burgers and then Maria recommended some places that we go out for a drink. We walked up the hill and were drawn into Susan's. This was a new restaurant and very nice inside. They were also having a two for one special. The bartenders, David and Blondie, were hilarious with their mixture of German and broken English. Genna told him that we bartended a little back home and he asked if it was like Coyote Ugly. (You would have to see the movie to understand that NO, it was not like Coyote Ugly). After a bachelor party of men from the UK came stumbling in and tried to talk to us, we decided it was time to retire to Aloha.


It was there opening week, hence the fruit salad and streamers in the drink.

Well, I realize I am behind on blogging. I am doing my best to catch up. This was actually written while listening to a French history lecture in French with Liz. Yeah, I have negative idea as to what century we are even discussing.

XO

The Louisiana Kid

At around 2pm on September 30, I arrived in Berlin Hautbanhof. Fortunately I have become quite skilled at reading foreign metro maps, unfortunately the Germans were doing construction on the line I was supposed to take. So I grabbed a metro that took me to the center of Berlin. When I emerged from the station, the bright color combination of pink and orange immediately caught my eye. There, in downtown Berlin, was a Dunkin Donuts. Before I could even think about where or how far away my hostel was, my feet headed for the DDs. I ordered my small french vanilla iced with cream and sugar. It tasted heavenly. Now, you may judge this story. Camille, you should be eating food and drink of the culture. I say, I am celebrating one month of backpacking through Europe. So whatever!

I began to wander in the direction of my hostel and caught a bus part of the way. I arrived at 60 Torstrasse and encountered a graffitti covered door. Oh no I thought. I have had such good luck with hostels and now I have to stay in a run down shack with Genna. She is one a of my best friends at college but isn't such a fan of dirty places or large amounts of people. Hostels can often fit into one, two or both of those categories, but I had managed to avoid the former thus far. I asked the lady in the shop next door, and she assured me that door was right. After climbing about 1000 steps , I arrived at hostel Aloha.

Fortunately, it was brightly decorated and pretty cute. Showers were clean and I wanted to lie in the bed right away and take a nap. Instead I grabbed a free map and headed out to see a section of the Berlin Wall. This part of the wall had required the Russians to tear down an old church and completely separate a neighborhood. Yeah, they never got over Leningrad and whole seizure of the city. I know way too much about WWII history thanks to Mr. Kirkcaldy and my mom.



The wall evoked more emotions from me than I thought it would. It was so sad. There are informational plaques everywhere describing what life was like and what this part of the wall did. It's like Germany wants to remind everyone... Don't go down this path again.

After this I bought some peanut butter and a baguette and headed for Alexanderplatz. This is big open market area with Berlin's version of a Macy's on speed. The thing is five stories high and is literally what would happen if Target, Best Buy, Staples and Macys had a baby together . I wondered around simply because I was looking for a jacket. I did find one in a store called the New Yorker, don't worry all European brands. It got cold!

That night, I changed and headed downstairs to a restaurant around the corner from my hostel called The Lousiana Kid. Yeah, I don't like German food so I found something that resembled the states. The chicken jumbalya that followed was absolutely amazing. I made friends with Maria and Onur who were the bartenders/waitstaff for the evening. Maria was from Macedonia and Onur was from Turkey, yet somehow they spoke perfect English and German. Not fair.

Later while we were chatting, an older German guy came in and ordered a whiskey. He was pretty annoying, and once he figured out I was an American he kept saying all we do is start wars. No offense, pal, but you are in Berlin, GERMANY right now. And while I may have been born in 1990 and not 1939, I still happen to know that you guys kind of messed things up for yourselves and most of the rest of Europe. When Maria, Onur and their friend Sasha decided he was over the limit, they out the rest of his drink in a coffee cup and sent him out the door. I guess they do things a bit differently in Berlin. We saw him get dragged out of the next bar by the police and I headed home. Didn't see the American causing any trouble now did we? Just eating a lot of good southern food.

Prag!: Ah, you are an American

On day 3 in Prague, I set out to find a jacket. There are tons of second hand stores on the street Emma lives on, apparently they are quite popular in Prague. I visited several stores, but apparently everyone donating jackets lately are HUGE Europeans. Needless to say, while I found the most pimp, furry lined jacket, it was made for a woman about 5' 8" and 160 pounds, a category which I will most likely never fall into.

Fortunately, I don't get cold too easily. Instead a bought a pair of new boots for 250 kC. I was thinking this was about 20, which is not bad for tall, (fake) leather boots. Hen I realized this is actually 12 USD. Score. I also bought three pair of black socks, which should get me through the next month. The only problem with the boots is I cant fit them in my backpack so I have to wear them when I travel. In other words, I am now forced to look decent while travel. You cannot wear said boots with sweatpants and a sweatshirt basically.

After this, I put on my boots and headed to New Town. I was determined to find the castle so I wondered up the hill until I found about 250 steps, which always lead to something good in Europe. I climbed, in my sweet new boots, up to the top. I found myself in a square with a huge gate. There were two cute guards standing completely still outside. No offense to Praha, but if the castle was to be invaded, these guys were probably not the best to have on guard. They looked to be about twelve. I winked at one, but his stone face did not change.

I entered the gates and was soon approached by a cop. Uh oh. My first run in with the 5-0 in Europe. Did this cop want to stop me from entering? Check my bag? No, more like get my number. He started chatting me up! "Ah you are an american!" Yes, pal, now let me into the damn castle grounds! Well I got in and walked around the grounds. It was a gothic castle and church design and the place was huge. There was a beautifully decorated royal palace with a little cafe in the courtyard. I did not pay to go into the church, because I can only do so many churches and so many church towers with a ton of steps.

Later I walked around the area and down the hill back to the bridge. I did a little shopping and got some more gifts! I swear I have an even bigger buying problem in Europe than in America. I got Brett and Sami t-shirts solely because I can't wait to hear them try and pronounce them. I am also on a constant hunt for cool ornaments since most of ours got ruined in a flood at Dad and Tree's. So I bought some Czech dolls, because the gallery of Czech dolls was having a sale. Yes, I was very tempted to buy the Pooh Bear set, but I decided on a more traditional grouping of the dolls.

Next I grabbed a fried cheese sandwich (ok two, but I didn't eat the second bun, so no judgement), and headed for the Communist Museum. This had to be one of this strangest museums I have ever been in. They have a collection of statue busts, educational books, pictures, interrogation devices etc all from the communist era in Prague. In school, we never focused on communism in the smaller cow tries so it was very interesting to see a new prospective. I watched a video about the different eras of communism in the Czech Republic and the scenes from 1989 were incredible. I had just walked through the square where the main protests occurred and it's crazy to think that if enough people get together and they force the issue for long enough, change will happen. "Don't go quietly into the night..."

Anyways, later I made dinner and ate with Emma and some of her suitemates. It felt like I was back in college? Oh the good old days...

A little shout out to the fans and beloved readers... Thanks for reading! Wish I could share Europe with all of you in more ways than just pictures and this blog!

XO

Czech it out: the Prague Zoo and the Lennon Wall

Well, I've been doing some reading on Prague and it turns out they have the 7th best zoo in Europe. Conveniently, NYU had planned a trip to the zoo and we all got student rates. So it was 4.50 USD for me to get in. I didn't know what to expect from a European zoo. Would there be different animals? Would the signs be in Czech? Well, what happened next, I never would have expected.

First we walked into the monkey house, where the monkeys literally could have swung on to my head. I mean everything was open and barely gated off. Not that I minded seeing the gorillas up close and personal, but I was a little concerned, considering my huge fear of land animals. Then we came upon a door that read: "Beware of the Twilight Zone". We proceeded into a dark room with lots of possums running around, behind glass thankfully. Just when I thought I was safe though, bats starting flying through the room. Yes, real live bats. They were flying, un-caged around the zoo room. I screamed, more like shrieked, and ran through the hall to escape them. First though, I had to pass through the area they were flying in and out of. My heart beat increases to about a zillion beats per minute, but I escaped before one got stuck in my scarf.

Later we perused the strange bird section, see below.


Finally, we arrived at the main event. We turned the corner from the random birds and saw the horses. They were three horses, two of which were making babies. Yes, there were horses in the zoo, in the open, "going at it". It was all I could do not to laugh, cry, cover my eyes, stare all at the same time. I mean there were children there and who wants to have that talk with their four year old in the middle of the Prague zoo! I was shocked. Emma had mentioned that the Czech animals were rowdy, and now we had proof, besides the bats. Needless to say, I was horrified.

We continued through the normal parts of the zoo.... The lions, the elephants, the mountain goats. By that time though it had rained And my cute banana republic sweater was damp so I wanted to get back on to public transportation. We wandered around until we found the exit and boarded the bus back to the metro. I got off at Mustek and headed outdoors, back into the raw cold. It wasn't long before I found a stand that sold fried cheese. Yes, breaded cheese that they toss in a frylator and serve for two bucks on the street in a hamburger bun. Now, I don't know why McDonalds has not capitalize on this meal. It is freakishly delicious. It also probably has abut 1000 calories, but after my first one I was ready for another one.

I wandered up the main drag in old town through a little festival that was celebrating Czech National Day. There were old school knights and lady maidens dancing around. They also had food stands set up selling pork basically off the pig thigh and these delicious little cinnamon sugar rolls. I walked up the street, which is where the main protests occurred during 1989. I wandered through the streets of Prague, attempting to find the river. Instead I found some beautiful buildings including opera houses, theaters and churches. Yes, every building is beautifully designed and decorated here. Luckily it wasn't bombed like Berlin or other cities in Eastern Europe, so the old buildings have been preserved. I encountered the river and realized I was a good walk from the bridge, but who minds a walk down the river?

I walked over the St. Charles again, this time looking for the Lennon Wall. Let me explain the Lennon Wall. It is a graffitied wall in New Town with lots of lyrics from The Beatles and quotes about love and happiness. This was basically in protest to the violence from the secret police and all those issues in the 1980s. Now, it has been painted over so many times, so graffiti disappears and reappears very quickly. I loved it. There was something about being around it that made me have butterflies inside and be very, very happy.



Really... How could you not smile?

To walk back I had to cross Lovers' Lock Bridge. Also great! This is a trend that has been going on all over the world and has been banned in several cities. Lovers lock bike locks on the rails of the bridge and throw the keys into the water. It's like promising their love together. I mean how romantic is this? They had them in Florence too on the road by the Ponte Rialto, but I didn't know the story behind it.



Anyways, I returned late to the dorms and cooked up some pasta and hit the hay. I needed to prepare for a long Wednesday!

Praha, the threshold

Apparently, back in medieval times, a Princess named Prague, Praha. In Czech, Praha means threshold. She named it this because Prague lies between the two halves of Europe. Technically, the Czechs believe they are part of central Europe, but it sure feels like Eastern Europe with the language and the people and the reminders of communism. Anyways, I thought this was in interesting story since I am at the threshold of my trip. I am 28 days in, with 30 to go. I have seen four countries and I will see five more. I have only 7 or 9 cities left depending on how things go. One month down, one to go. Don't worry parents, I will need the structure of a semester of school when I return. I pick classes Halloween night!

My first day in Prague I bight groceries for 89 kC. I should mention the exchange rate is about 1 USD = 20 kC, which stand a for the Czech Koruna (pronounced like dubloon). You can get a decent amount for your money here. I bought a loaf of bread, a jar of jam, six eggs, a half gallon of orange juice for only 4.50. It's a little bit different from Switzerland. Let me tell you, it was quite nice to have a fried egg on toast for breakfast, something a little normal.

Later I set off with Emma, her boyfriend Mario and his friend Nick. First we did a quick walk through Old Town to see the famous astronomical clock, which was sweet but doesn't actually tell time. We decided to go to the metronome because they had never seen it. It is located on the other side of the river that cuts through Prague. So we crossed a bridge from Old Town to New Town, how clever. Then we proceeded up the 150 steps or so, because what is an attraction in Europe without a ridiculous amount of steps. The metronome, which is giant, was built there in 1991. Yes, the same year they knocked down the giant statue of Stalin that used to be there. You can literally see the whole city from there, no wonder there was a looming statue of their communist leader. It's a big skate park and regular park up there with tags everywhere. All very beautiful and such. We caught a tram back over the bridge and I got off by myself at the St. Charles Bridge.


Clock!


view from the Metronome

The St. Charles is filled with vendors and gives a great view overlooking the river between the two parts of Prague. I crossed over in an attempt to find goulash and the castle. I was successful with the goulash, which is basically a beef stew in a bread bowl, but it was exactly what I needed. It is cold and rainy in Prague so I needed to be warmed up! Anyways, these guys oriabboy thought I was crazy and starved because I ate all the soup and almost the entire bread bowl. I swear I could have eaten another one it was so good and only 100 kC.

Then I wandered up the street to find the castle but I had no luck so I headed for the trams. Somehow I made it back to Emmas apartment and stayed in for the night because I planned an early wake up for Tuesday.

More to post tomorrow...