France, in the buff

I got back from France yesterday at 10 am. Have I mentioned lately I love my life? If I could tell you all the stories, I would. Probably will in person. For now I'll give the shortest summary I can.

I met up with the girls Wednesday morning in Nice. We went to Antibes, took naps on the beach.

Next day got busted for not buying tram tickets, the rent-a-cops were SUCH jerks, way more than necessary. Shook it off and went to Monaco which is beautiful. Kaitlin, Ellena and I went to the Damien Hirst exhibit. Then Alex and I took a 1.5 hour bus ride to Juan les Pins to see where her sister used to live. 45 minutes later we had to leave to catch the last train back. Worth it? Umm...

That night we found out our flight the following morning had been cancelled due to the Volcano erupting in Iceland, so we rescheduled it for the next day.

Friday I was really grateful I actually got to see Nice. Tried to do Rick Steve's walking tour, couldn't really figure it out so I explored around the city's center. Made it up to the mountain though, great views.

That night we found out our flight had been cancelled yet again, so we booked a train for the next morning instead. At 1 am apparently all of us but Kaitlin slept through 2 men coming into the room to drop off one of their's luggage. We kind of freaked out for a while about that when she woke us up...but then it just turned into a giggly slumber party and until he came back into the room and turned out to be the HOTTEST guy travelling Europe. :) So things worked out.

Saturday we took a 5 hour train ride to Paris. It was packed, sooo many people didn't have tickets--cheaters. We learned our lesson in the dept.

On our first day in Paris we ate dinner right down the street from the Eiffel Tower and afterwards went up into it.

Next day was the Arch De Triumph, Champs Elysses, the Louvre, and dinner on a boat outside Notre Dame.

Monday Megan went back to Hatfield, and Alex and I went to Versailles. We found out upon arrival it's closed on Mondays, but the gardens were open so we saw those. Massive. Also rented a boat to row on the canal in. A canal in your backyard? Fly.

Pizza across the street from our hostel, made friends with the guys working there, and we traded art. One of them drew my portrait and I drew him a picture as well.

Tuesday we did the Catacombs: it was bananas. 2 km, half of that the walls were lined with bones neatly stacked into patterns. Buhhhh.

Our flight back to Hatfield for Tuesday night got cancelled, so Kaitlin found a coach for that night to get back. Before she left we took a walking tour of Montmarte and saw such things as where Von Gogh lived, where Picasso traded paintings for meals, and a few spots where the movie Amelie was filmed.

Wednesday it was just Alex and I left. We split up, she went back to the Louvre and I to the Dali exhibit in Montmarte--very cool. Then I sat on the steps of the Sacre Coeur and watched street performers. Got asked on a date by a 45 year old, but to make up for it on the metro ride back I met a much younger guy named Will who is an actor. He was nice--and not creepy.

Thursday we kept it pretty simple sally with a picnic in Luxembourg park and then a night in the Latin quarter. Piano lounge, then a Latin club where we made a bunch of friends and sang "Stand By Me" to the whole joint--oh my gosh so fun. I did notice, however, that once it gets dark, Paris turns into roaming grounds for the weirdest, creepiest guys. So we made our way back once the club closed.

Friday morning we ate breakfast in Amelie's cafe, walked around Montmarte a bit, and watched an awesome band (Felix Fables) perform on the Scare Coeur steps. I loved them! People even danced, they played Johnny B. Good as their last song, it was fun. Best way to spend the last afternoon in Paris.

Got some baked goods, went back to the Louvre where I got in for free since Alex had become a "Friend of the Louvre", and they get a friend in for free on Wednesday and Fridays (keep that in mind--good thing to know). Glad we got to make it back.

We made a quick trip back outside to see Paris one last time in the sunset before we headed back to grab our luggage and get to the coach station. On the metro ride there we ran into 2 guys studying at UofH as well from Connecticut which was fun, we ended up spending the rest of the trip home with them.

8 hour coach ride back to England, nasty breakfast in the only open at 6 am restaurant until our coach to Hatfield came. Nap like a mofo on that, and we were back!

Best trip to France I think I could have ever asked for! Voi la!

All photos are on Facebook.
Nice
Paris Sat-Tues
Paris Wed-Sat

Ouch

We had to delay our flight tomorrow morning to Paris at 6:45 am to Saturday morning. Because of this:
The volcano that erupted in Iceland
But I don't mind because since I flew into Nice, France yesterday morning, we've been to Antibes, Monaco, and Juan le Pins. And this gives me a chance to actually see Nice! It's not so bad :) Except our friend Ellena with us was planning to go back to Hatfield tomorrow and can't find flights until the 21st :S That's a mess.

I took a stroll down the old long walk

I got back from Ireland last night. I leave for France in 9 hours, SO. I'll leave a link to all my pictures on Facebook. I think you can get the basic idea. We stayed mostly in Southern Ireland, and thank goodness because it seemed to be lovlier, and more calm than Nothern.


Piczz

Top O' the mornin

Have to be quick, communal computers. But I'm currently in Ennis, Ireland right now. Played on a beach in the OCEAN today. I think I like this country best :) Be back in Hatfield for a day next Tuesday. Have a good week!

Can't sleep...

We're leaving on a coach for the Stansted airport at this coming 3:20 am. Then at 9 am Nicole, Sarah, Hanna, and I will fly to Ireland! We have a tour of the south Monday-Friday and will spend the surrounding days (we come back next Monday) in Dublin and Belfast. Ever heard of the Blarney Stone? I hadn't, until booking of course. Eww!

Sprechen Sie Englisch?

From Wednesday-Sunday I was in Switzerland, a country one year ago I thought I'd never go to. I stayed with Michael Meier (from the hockey team 07-09) and Geoffrey met us there as well, since he's studying in the Czech.

First day was just trying to get there and get ahold of Mike via cell phone, which isn't as easy as you'd think. But I a very nice lady named Gabby helped me at the train station and Mike did call me so I made it to his home in Aarau safely around 11 pm.

Thursday morning Michael had to go to work, so I went to Zurich to meet Geoff when he got there from his 10 hour bus ride.

It snowed pretty much all day, but it was still a nice temperature so I didn't mind it a bit. Plus I wore the boots Grandma got me which helped :) We didn't get meals so much as we just got coffee and pastries along the way. The coffee there, btw, is phenomenal.

We also went to a museum and then watched Michael at hockey practice that night.

Friday morning it was sunny out! Geofferson and I stayed in Aarau and explored the town, which we decided we LOVED. It's a lovely country.

That night Michael made us fondue despite his very strict "No Cheese in the Apartment" policy. Thank goodness too, because it was delicious. We then went to a club where ladies got in free (Frauen: Gratis), met some of Michael's native friends, and of course danced. Only down side was people could smoke inside, so my eyes burned well into the next morning.

Saturday we went skiing in the Alps. An added bonus was he drive us there. Let me tell you, you never realize just how nice riding in a car is until you can't do it for 5 months.

I sucked ridiculous amounts at skiing. I fell on my tail bone really hard the 3rd slope I went down, so that made the rest of the day pretty long. It really was a lot of fun though, and Geoff and Michael stuck with me the whole day. God bless them.

Up there was the prettiest scenery I think I have ever seen, a lake surrounded by mountains?? That's the dream location!

That night we just made stupid amounts of spaghetti and recovered from the day. There had been a soccer game vs. Zurich FC that evening while we were getting in. We stood on the balcony and watched the away team fans walk to the train station and sing sing sing like they do. A bit after that, we heard more commotion and went outside again to see the jerkier fans getting in fights and throwing rocks at the cops in riot gear and their caged vans. They were real houligans!!! I'm sure I'd be more annoyed like Michael if I lived there, but it was just really awesome.

I had to leave the apt at 8 the next morning to get back to the airport and the boys joined me :) How nice. And then I left them...it was like the best thing to see people I knew, and to do it in Switzerland? Why, that was just a big heaping pile of Nutella icing.

Ps. I want to learn German soooooooo bad now. Coolest language ever!

Willst du more photos?

Chocolate Hills

I'd never really had a reason to go to the Philippines, but I guess these will do it. And this picture is for real, google image it and you'll get 100 like it. SWEET let's do it.