Weekend 2: Paris, France

This weekend we went to Paris! It's only an hour and a half train ride from Metz via the TGV (high speed trains that go about 200 mph). Apparently Paris is divided into districts (who feels like they're in the Hunger Games yet? because I certainly did) and the higher the number of the district, the sketchier it can be. We stayed in 18 out of 20...Oops.. It wasn't too bad though and our hotel was inexpensive which was great! 

We started Saturday morning with a visit to the Sacre Coeur. It's the highest point in Paris (thanks for that fact Mary Margaret!) and has a spectacular view of the city. Below is a picture of the Basilique du Sacre Coeur. Stunning, right?

After this we ventured to the Arc de Triomphe. Did you know that the architect wanted to create a bejeweled elephant but Napoleon stopped him and suggested the Arc instead? Can you imagine visiting a bedazzled, giant elephant? I think I'll agree with Napoleon on this one and say the Arc was a better idea. 

(From L to R: Nicole, Kate, Mary Margaret, Kristen, Me, Asian dude in heroic pose)

Nicole was a fun addition to our travel group this week! She's been studying in Granada, Spain since January and joined us in Paris for the weekend. It was so much fun having her with us and she gave us some great tips for our upcoming trip to Barcelona this weekend. 

We then wandered down the Champs de Elysees with a stop for lunch, various sight seeing, and a banana and nutella crepe :) 

Scenic view of the Eiffel Tower!

banana and Nutella crep... mmm.... 

After meandering down the Champs de Elysees and taking in all the beautiful sights of Paris, we made it to the Louvre. We didn't stay for too long but it was definitely worth the trip and added bonus: free with our international student ID cards! Europe treats students really well and a lot of museums, sights, etc. are extremely discounted or free -- thanks Europe!

The Louvre

We found ancient arts and crafts! These are small roller stamps that they would roll onto clay. How cool!

To wrap up our day, we went to the Champs de Mars (large field in front of the Eiffel Tower) to meet up with a friend, Christy Cork, who has been living just outside Paris as an Au pair for the past 2 years. I'm so glad we got to see her and catch up. It was wonderful to hear about her life here in France and her plans for PA school when she returns to the states. Also, at night the Eiffel Tower lights up and sparkles on the hour! It was beautiful to see at night. 

Look who I found! 

Eiffel Tower at night! 

Sunday morning we went to the Notre Dame and took some fun pictures with it! 

Casually leaning on the Notre Dame. 

Then we happened across a bridge I'd read about in my travel book! It's the Lover's lock bridge and you and your significant other are supposed to take a lock, lock it onto the bridge, and throw the key into the river to signify the bond of your love. It was covered in locks!

(See the loving bond between cake and pie...)

Then we went to the Luxembourg Gardens and enjoyed the sunshine and an ice cream. There were also a ton of kids playing with these little boats in a fountain in the park! It was beautiful and very relaxing to enjoy the park. Although we did get in trouble for sitting on the grass. Who doesn't let you sit on the grass in a park?! 

Little boats! There were tons of kids playing with them. Each boat represents a country 

Me and Mary Margaret in the Luxembourg Garden

A couple of different sights from Paris that aren't on the typical tour route: 

Didn't bring a hat? It's okay, use your Louvre map. 

(Now that's what I call innovative origami)

A European parking job. There isn't a space? It's okay, just push the other car out of the way until there's "room" for yours. 

We made one final stop at the Eiffel Tower before heading back to our train. It was a beautiful weekend in Paris! 

Weekend 1: Brussels, Belgium

I've returned (and attempted to catch up on homework -- thus the delay in posting) from a wonderful weekend in Brussels, Belgium. 


We headed to the train station after class on Friday for our first train ride! As you can see in the picture below, they were small compartments of 6 seats -- the same style as I imagine the Hogwarts Express to be :) We had a compartment to ourselves; although after our train ride home, we realized we might have been sitting in first class. 

We arrived around 11 o'clock at night and had to go on a quest to find our hostel. Mary Margaret printed out Google maps directions for us which were very handy with the minor complication of not being able to see/find/read street signs and having no idea where we were going since it was very dark. We finally found our way, including a stop to take a picture with this really nice statue...  (sorry I can't figure out how to rotate it right now -- you'll have to go for the fun head tilt sideways) 

We stayed in a room of 10 -- dorm style at our hostel. We had 6 random people staying with us, 2 of which who were awake when we arrived and friendly enough to help us set up our beds! Our night, however, was filled with a cacophony of snores. definition of cacophony: A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds. which is exactly what this was. A HARSH mixture of terrible snoring sounds. It's safe to say that sleep was rare Friday night. 

I have decided to include a few useful hints for hostels (HIH) throughout my blog while I encounter various experiences as a way to share my story and perhaps guide others in their hostel adventures. My first 2 are:

HIH 1: Always check to make sure the toilet seat is down in the dorm-style bathroom. 

HIH 2: EARPLUGS. Even if you think you don't mind the sound of snoring, when 3 random strangers all snore in different patterns -- you'll mind. 

One of my many travel books told us that in Belgium we should experience their: waffles, fries, chocolate and beer. What better way to start our Saturday morning than with a Belgian waffle and whipped cream?! 

Saturday morning we went on a 4-hour bike tour around Brussels. It was a truly incredible way to experience the city. It started in the Grand Place (see below) and went to a variety of different areas and sites around Brussels. Below are a few pictures of the places we visited. 

Grand Place

(sorry about the lack of rotation again)

Manneken Pis --  a 2 foot tall statue of a boy peeing. A lot of times, they'll dress him up in a variety of outfits to celebrate different things! 

The Royal Palace -- coincidentally it is no longer used as the residence, it is now where they deal with affairs of state. 

Jubilee Park -- the building was commissioned by King Leopold II and built for the 1880 National Exhibition 

European Parliament -- Brussels is the capital of the EU so we made a stop by the European Parliament. 

(sorry about the head tilt again)

We were lucky enough to come across a parade around the Grand Place that afternoon. It's called the Zinneke Parade. The theme was disorder. We all agreed that perhaps we're not artsy enough, but we didn't really get it...

This was a huge man made out of cardboard and his limbs were controlled by people. They made him "walk" down the street. It was pretty cool. This group of people was supposed to represent "a little disorder among friends". Other groups represented cerebral disorder, auditory disorder, citizens' disobedience, etc.

After the parade we grabbed lunch and had to check off the next thing on our foods to eat in Brussels -- fries. I'm going to be perfectly honest here, they weren't anything incredibly special. But according to my travel book and our bike tour guide, they are cooked twice at very specific temperatures for certain amounts of time making them crispier and hotter -- which I can't disagree with. Nonetheless they made for an excellent afternoon snack. And they serve them with a tiny fork which we found comical. 

After a brief pit-stop at the hostel for a nap (due to the lack of sleep) we went out for a late, European style dinner. We had mussels in Brussels! We sat around and chatted and made friends with our waiter who spoke French, English, Spanish, and Arabic. Kristen, Mary Margaret, and Kate all practiced their French with him while I chatted a bit in Spanish. And he gave us his advice on which of the Belgian beers to try (checking off another Belgian food suggestion) as they have over 400 different kinds! 

Giant pot of mussels 

trying our Belgian beer

We rounded out our trip with one last waffle (and Coke and coffee for our sleep-deprived bodies) and a trip to the Musee du Cacao et du Chocolat. I wouldn't say it was the most exhilarating part of our trip but it did include a praline making demonstration and a sample which I can't deny was delicious. 

Nothing says Sunday brunch like a Belgian waffle in Belgium :)

Praline making demonstration at the Chocolate museum!

A presentation given in our GTL 2000: What is Europe? class said that Brussels is the most boring city. Perhaps you think so but I think it was a splendid way to kick off our summer travels!

Next weekend we're off to Paris! I can't wait! 

Pre-GTL Vacation

As a pre-GTL adventure, I went to Greece with my family! Including my aunt and uncle and my grandparents who are Greek. It was such a treat to get to travel with them (and have them order when we couldn't!) We were in Athens for a couple days and then went to a town on the coast (Vouliagmeni) to spend time by the sea. (See picture below of the view -- not too shabby, eh?) 

In Athens we went to the Acropolis and the National Archaeological Museum. The ruins in Athens are absolutely stunning. It's amazing to think how much they were able to accomplish with such little technology.

(View of the Acropolis from our hotel in Athens) 

So a fun bit of background information: Athena and Poseidon battled for the city (now Athens -- can you guess who the winner was?) Poseidon stuck his trident in the ground and spewed salt water while Athena offered the first olive tree. The people of the city preferred the olive tree and chose Athena as the winner which is why it's called Athens. So the Parthenon is a temple to Athena! (see picture 1 below). There's also what I will kindly refer to as the "losers temple" which is a temple to Poseidon built on the coast in an area called Sounion. We went for a visit out there (see picture 2 below). Again both were absolutely stunning as you can see from the pictures!

Parthenon (Athena) 

Sounion (Poseidon) 

Today my dad, sister, and I flew to Frankfurt and drove to Metz. Allison showed me around Metz and pointed out all the places to go including a walk to the train station with a brief tutorial on where to go, where the ticket booths are, etc. It's occurred to me just how much French I don't know as I pantomimed and jabbed my finger at the menu ordering lunch today. I'll have to work on that. Tomorrow I'll check into school and go to Cora (the French Walmart) to get some essentials for my 12 weeks over here.

I can't wait for everyone else to get here and start planning trips! That's all for now :) 

Packing!

Hello all!

So if you didn't already know, I'll be studying abroad this summer in Metz, France at our Georgia Tech Lorraine campus! I'm very excited but kind of nervous -- I leave in a day (Monday)! This whole thing is starting to feel very real.

 I intend to recount all of my adventures and stories here on this blog so you all can stay up to date with what I'm doing! I do have a request: please keep me updated on your lives too! Feel free to comment or email me and let me know what's going on in your life. I like skyping too so let me know if you want to be friends!

I can't wait to see what this summer has in store for me!