The one of the Eiffel tower at night

So I am EXTREMELY PROUD of this picture, all the more so because I took it with a $70 camera on night mode without a tripod.  I can only imagine how legit it would be with a legit camera :)  The trip was pretty  much worth it for this picture alone.  How awesome am I?!?! Ok, brag-fest is officially over.  Besides, if I was really that awesome, I would have pictures like this all the time.

The one where my legs almost fell off (Paris)

Paris Day 2 was pretty much as full as it possibly could have been.  Ok, I’m lying, if we had gone back out to see more sites after dinner, it could have been fuller, but we did our best.  We started the day in the same manner as Saturday, with our croissants and nutella, coffee, and orange juice, once again smuggling our bread into our bags.  We headed straight over to Notre Dame to get in line for the towers before they even opened around 9:45AM.  We wanted to make sure that we got to the top with as little wait as possible.  We climbed the nearly 450 steps and saw some of the best views Paris has to offer.  One of the great things about city center is how nearly all the buildings stay true to Paris’s architectural style.  It really gives the place a definite feeling of “Paris,” rather than the placelessness that seems to permeate so many cities today.  After we went up to the bell towers, we went inside, which was really fascinating, as a church service in French was going on.  The perimeter inside was separated so that people could walk around and see all the various altars and stained glass.  If you happen to be reading this, Memere, I lit a candle and said a prayer especially for you and Pepere J 

Next we headed off to the Pantheon, which I am pretty sure is the old government building.  Whatever it used to be, it is quite impressive with classical architecture, all columns, domes and such.  The crypt was really neat as well, with the tombs of well-known French people, like Voltaire, Rousseau, and Madame Curie.  That would be awesome to be so important as to warrant a special tomb that people from all over the world come to visit you at.  After we tried to go to Pompidou center, which is another art museum, and currently has a large Salvador Dali exhibit going on (one of my favorite artists), but there was like an hour wait to get into the museum and another 90 minutes for the Dali exhibit, so we moved on.  The outside of Pompidou was cool too though, it looked like it had one of those hamster tunnels attached to the side ;)

Next on the list was the Arc du Triomphe.  Marissa had kept saying how small it was, but her memory obviously deceived her because it was extremely tall and had excellent views.  By this point, my legs can attest to its height because they burned more and more with each passing step.  It was windy and worth it J 

We made our way over to the Louvre, taking our time to enjoy our light lunch along with way.  Masha had plans to go out salsa-dancing that night, so we took the obligatory outside pictures and she headed back to the hotel to rest her worn-out legs while Marissa and I tackled the Louvre.  When people say that you could spend days, weeks, months even in the Louvre, they aren’t kidding, but we managed to see the biggest things for us in less than 90 minutes.  We made our way through the French statues, the Renaissance tapestries, and the Egyptian art to see Hammurabi’s code, which was pretty cool and definitely steeped in history.  Next we rushed over to Venus de Milo, followed by the Wedding Feast and the Mona Lisa.  We didn’t stay any one place very long, but I was impressed by the ancient greek sculptures the most.  My favorite was probably the Wedding Feast; I just love the style of painting from that period (Renaissance I think).  We tripped the light fantastic toe (supposedly our Spanish/English dictionary thinks this is a suitable translation for saltar, which is really to dance or leap) through the Spanish paintings and headed out. 

The Wedding Feast

Our day was finally winding down as we headed to L’Orangerie, the home of Monet’s water lilies.  Our Museum pass let us bypass the long line, and we were in within minutes.  As expected, they were breathtaking.  Monet always makes me think of this painting Mom & Dad had hanging above their bed when I was little, pretty sure it was Monet and some variation of water lilies.  Anyways, I digress. I could have sat in there listening to classical music and reading one of the classics for hours, but on we continued. Last official stop of the day, and pretty much the trip, was Musee Rodin home of the ‘The Kiss,’ ‘The Thinker,’ and ‘Gates of Hell.’ I am glad we went, but honestly I was so tired that I would have sat down on a bench and fallen asleep if it wasn’t so gosh darn cold.  We contemplated one more stop, but we were sooooo done, so back to the hotel we went. 

It is amazing how an hour of lying down can rejuvenate you, as was the case with us.  We interneted it up and then decided to seek out some more of those mouth-watering crepes.  On the way, we made a detour down the street to take a gander at the infamous Moulin Rouge.  As we walked the street, I couldn’t help but think of another trip not too long ago to Las Vegas and to a certain friend (Alyssa) who would have thought this the best place on earth.  Sometimes you go so far away to realize what you have right there at home…We got our crepes, the exact same as Saturday (what can I say, I am a creature of habit), and returned to the warmth of our hotel room. 

And what was the best part of our trip?  I never feel like I can pick just one part, but the highlights.  Laughs and jokes with friends, French crepes straight out of the pan, going to bed and waking up warm, FaceTiming with Katie and Chelsea, and experiencing a place that is different from anywhere I have ever been before.  All in all, it was worth every penny.

The one where Marissa put her ticket in the wrong hole (Paris)

We definitely started our morning off right with a free breakfast of croissants and nutella with coffee and orange juice.  We also hid our buttered rolls in our bags to eat at lunch time.  We made our way to the Metro and bought our day passes, while also trying to figure out where we could buy a 2-day Museum pass that would let us get into all the sites we wanted to without paying anything more.  In the end, we connected through like 6 trains/metros before finally arriving at the right stop for the Palace of Versailles. 

Two side notes about the journey: First, on the way we had to buy special to and return tickets from city center to Palace of Versailles, so we disembarked from the train at the edge of city center and exited the metro to buy our tickets.  Masha bought all six tickets, and then we paid her back.  Masha and I put our tickets in and made it inside, and the next thing we know, “Guys, I think I put my ticket in the wrong hole…” Marissa had somehow put her ticket into a random crack instead of the ticket reader, losing it for all eternity! We almost died laughing, and Marissa had to buy a new ticket. Oops! Glad it wasn’t me for once. Second, I really enjoying having a conversation with other people who understand everything I say and who I don’t have to speak abnormally slowly and enunciated for.  We talked to this group of women on the metro about what we have been doing in Spain, and it was really nice.  I even gave a woman some tips for her middle-school aged daughter about what to do with her curly hair! I love Spanish- and French-speakers, but I really love me some English-speakers.

Hall of Mirrors

The Palace of Versailles and the gardens were amazing.  As much as they are superfluous and over-the-top unnecessary, they are awesome! And I wish that we had something like that in the States.  One of the things that seems to impress me the most is always the ceilings.  The paintings and designs that they put on the ceilings in these palaces are certainly something to behold.  My favorite place there was probably the Hall of Mirrors, which had me singing a song from ‘Anastasia.’ I also loved the hall of paintings from various battles.  There was one of the siege at Yorktown with George Washington which was a nice reminder of home. 

George Washington and the siege at Yorktown 1781

After, we hit up the Eiffel tower, which was neat, but mostly we went because you have to.  I was really glad we did because the obligatory pictures are awesome! We elected not to go up because we didn’t want to walk and we weren’t going to pay to take the elevator up.  Next we headed to the Musee d’Orsay which is an old railroad station that has been converted into an art gallery.  We saw some of Van Gogh’s paintings, which were really neat, though I really liked the awesome rail station clock and the miniature statue of liberty. 

Pont Neuf

Our last officially planned stop of the day was Notre Dame.  Awe-inspiring to say the least, and even better because it was over-looking the river.  We were going to go up in the bell towers, but the line was closed for the day.  Regardless, we took some very nice pictures and decided to come back.  On the way back home we decided to walk by Pont Neuf, which to us was the bridge from the Bourne Identity scene.  It was pretty epic, and became even more epic when I later read that it is the oldest bridge in Paris and an actual site (lol). It wasn’t just us; while we were there, some other American tourists were there to see the Bourne Identity bridge.

Sacre-Coeur

Our crepe God

The metro to our hotel overshot it a bit, so we went to Sacre-Coeur, a basilica very near our hotel.  It was extremely beautiful at sunset and we got some great pictures of the city from the top of the hill.  After a rest for our feet and our bodies, we headed out to find some dinner.  We all ate these amazing crepes, one Chicken and Cheese and one Nutella.  They were soooooo good, and I watched the cook’s technique, so with the right tools, I could totally replicate!  All in all, a Parisian-perfect day!!

The one with Sandy's checked bag

Today we slowly made our way all the way from Zafra to Paris.  I always thought the Europe was relatively small; Oh, once you are there, it is easy to get anywhere.  That may be true, but only if you are living in a major metropolis.  Marissa and I leave our flat around 9:45 to meet up with Masha and to get on the 10:10 bus to Sevilla.  Nearly two hours later we arrive in Sevilla and then took a taxi to the airport, nearly 40 minutes away.  Then we had to get checked in at our airline, Vueling.  This is where the complications really started.  You see, I had looked up the bag requirements for RyanAir, supposedly the most stringent in Europe.  To check in at the ticket counter, they make you weight all bags (even carry-ons) and everyone must put them in a “basket” type thing to make sure they fit.  My width (less than 8 inches) was fine, my length-no problem, but my height was maybe half a centimeter two big because of my stupid wheels.  I nearly ripped them off but paid the 25€ fee to check the back instead. 

I set off the alarms at security and had to be patted down (read: physically assaulted).  All in all, we made it through security, though I left some of my dignity, as well as my luggage, behind.  We had another hour before our flight, so we relaxed and ate the bocadillos (bread and chorizo) that we had brought along with us.  The flight was mostly uneventful.  The altitude got to me, as it always does, and I passed out within minutes after take-off.  The unfortunate thing is that it makes me so groggy, but it is impossible to sleep well on an airplane. Oh well.  At the airport, we had to discover the cheapest way to make it into the city from an airport that almost can’t really be considered a “Paris” airport.  We took an almost 90 minute bus into the city, followed by another 20-30 minutes on the metro before finally arriving at Hotel Luxia. 

We manage to check-in, despite our limited French and their limited English and head up to our third floor room.  We open the door to discover that the beds have been slept in by somebody else, Goldilocks perhaps.  We make our way back down to attempt to communicate this to the hotel staff.  The desk clerk gets on the phone and starts jabbering away in French.  Finally, they tell us that they will give us clean sheets and towels, but it looks like it is up to us to make our own beds.  Sigh.  At least they gave us the internet password for free to make it up to us.  We finally got into the room, made our beds, and headed out to find dinner.  We walked a good ways up the main street but quickly realized that Paris was already living up to its reputation of being extremely food snobby and expensive.  We settled for a café/fast foodesque place, where I got a kebab and french fries that we took back to the room to eat.  After, we relaxed and planned out the next day, heading to sleep relatively early.  Despite some bumps along the way, can’t complain too much, we are in Paris after all :D

The one with a Zafra Thanksgiving

To put it mildly, Thanksgiving here in Zafra was AWESOME! Thursdays here are usually a good day because I don’t have class until the afternoon.  I spent the morning running errands and picking up all the delicious foods we needed for our Thanksgiving feast. At school, I taught my third and fourth years about the history of Thanksgiving and how we celebrate today, by a big feast with friends and family, some good American football, and a nap.  We also watched a youtube video of someone making a pumpkin pie that definitely made my mouth water and my stomach grumble.

After school, I headed to my favorite café, Restaurante Ramirez, for a café con leche and a Thanksgiving skype session with my family.  Everyone was there (Mom, Dad, Maggie, and Jenny) except Katie, who was spending Thanksgiving with the Rose family.  Because they are all coming to Europe for Christmas, I had them open their presents, which was really fun.  Dad got a SCUBA book with 100 of the best dive sites. I made Mom a ribbon/pearl necklace and bracelet.  Maggie got a set of greeting cards and a book of 116 things to do before she graduates UVA.  Katie got a book on Marriage and Finances, and I made Jenny a slideshow of family pictures put to Disney songs that Maggie and I sang for her.  It was a blast watching Jenny watch her slideshow, and I can’t wait to give all of them big hugs in a little more than three weeks.

At home again, I began preparation for Thanksgiving dinner.  I am the main cook of the group, and since Marissa and I were hosting, I was in charge of the turkey, gravy, candied yams, and corn.  Masha and Rebecca came over around eight, bringing a fantastic salad, apple crisp, and wine with them.   We listened to some Christmas music and began the feast, which lasted over three hours.  It was a fantastic time, just talking and laughing around the table, eating until we were all unbuckling our belts to make room.  I made the candied yams completely from scratch, and based on the reviews, they were the best candied yams on the whole planet.  The party broke up around midnight because we were headed to Paris in the AM J Happy Thanksgiving to all, and I hope that yours were filled with as much joy and thanks as mine!!

BTW, I have been thinking about the show “Friends” a lot, so don’t be surprised when my blog posts have suddenly taken on a “Friends” theme!!

Thanksgiving package

I was just getting back from the market when I saw the mailman walking up the street to his car. I rushed inside to check and see if we had gotten anything. He had left a notice saying that he had tried to deliver a package. Since we weren't home, you have to go pick up the package at the post office. With bread and shopping bag in hand, I literally chased the mailman up the street to get my package! And let me just say that it was sooooo worth it! Thanks mom to an awesome Thanksgiving package!!! My feet thank you for my new wool socks, my tummy for the molasses cookies, and my boredom for the 19 random movies! Love you :)

Lessons and pen pals

Private lessons are going exceptionally well. I enjoy teaching, and I feel like I can really make a difference for these people when we are able to work so closely. I am exceptionally impressed with the six second years I work with. I can't believe this is only their second year studying English intensely.

Another thing that has got my excited is a project I have been working on with a teacher from the United States. We are setting up penpals, probably for my second and third years. I am super psyched for them to get to communicate with Americans closer to their own age. The possibilities are endless! We haven't decided what form and to what extent the communication will take place, but it should be an amazing opportunity for them! Stay tuned for more details on this seriously awesome intercontinental cultural exchange!!