Instead of creating a massively long post about this past week (which was pretty awesome), I will try to briefly summarize.
The Weekend: A Trip to the Northwestern coast of France
Saturday: Morning to mid-Afternoon
Where: Mont-St. Michel
What is it: A massive monastery set up on the top of a hill on an island right by the coast of the Atlantic
What we did: Took a guided tour of the Medieval monastery as well as explored the many gift shops that had medieval gear
What we ate: After asking for a ham and cheese waffle (in French), we went and sat down and had ham and cheese gauffres (which are crepes made with buckwheat which gives them a browner tint)
Saturday: Late Afternoon- Evening
Where: St Malo
What is it: A quaint port town that is a big tourist attraction because of its seafood and friendly folks
What we did: Stayed at a classy hotel (I slept in a bed labeled Capitaine) and explored the town
What we ate: We went to a small seafood restaurant called L'Anchorage and had the formule- 6 oysters, a big bowl of mussels and fries, and a dessert crepe filled with melted chocolate and bananas.
Sunday: Morning- Afternoon
Where: Normandy- American Memorial
What is it: The beaches of Normandy where the Americans, British, and Canadians invaded to liberate France from Nazi control. The American Memorial is still American soil.
What we did: Explored the Omaha beach, American cemetery, and the Memorial building
What we ate: A FANTASTIC breakfast at the Hotel in St Malo. Fresh baked croissants, fresh fruit, and fresh brewed coffee. Enough to hold us out through lunchtime.
Sunday: Mid-Afternoon
Where: Memorial of Peace in Caen
What is it: The Memorial was set up to honor the victims of World War II, and also has exhibitions on 9-11 and the Cold War
What we did: Explored the Memorial and watched two films on World War II. The whole experience was very mentally taxing. So much death and war in one day is not recommended.
What we ate: We stopped at a gas station on the way out of town. I had a sangwich and some chips.
Skip to...
Wednesday: Night-time
Where: Montmartre, a bar and a fondue place
What is it: The bar was a nice little place that had a Family Guy pinball game and a jukebox, and the fondue place was very small, quaint fondue restaurant. Very informal.
What we did: Had an aperatif drink at the bar and then headed across to the fondue place... 1 hour and 15 minutes after we had made our reservations (that's the only time they could seat us)
What we ate: Appetizers which were pieces of meat, cheese, pickles and olives. The Entree was the fondue itself which was bread and potatoes to dip in the cheese pot and a bowl of meat to dip in a boiling cauldron of oil. Both were delicious. The dinner was complemented with white and red wine in Baby Bottles and a dessert of Del Monte fruit cocktail.
Thursday: Night-time
Where: My Apartment
What is it: A lovely 3 bedroom place with a bathroom and a kitchen with an oven just large enough to fit a turkey in it.
What we did: 12 of us gathered together in a country rather than America with people who weren't all Americans to enjoy a nice Thanksgiving dinner.
What we ate: Hors d'oeuvres that included great deviled eggs and wine. The main courses which included a turkey that your truly cooked, mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, cranberry sauce, among other things. And for dessert we had a delicious made from scratch homemade pumpkin pie, made with real Parisian Market pumpkins.
Saturday: Night-time
Where: Izzy (and a bit of Montmartre)
What is it: A small bar located where I practice Ultimate indoors.
What we did: A Mustache Party. It was obligatory to wear a mustache and thanks to Sarah (who loaned me her mustache), I fit in perfectly. It was the Birthday Party for the creation of the RevolutionAirs. We danced all night long, to mostly American music.
What we ate: Well we didn't eat much because it was a bar, but there was a snack table and very cheap drinks. I tried a lot of cheeses, one which I think was called a fromage au cumin was really good.
And so I conclude my crazy week by sitting around, relaxing, and listening to some football online. I also bought my plane ticket home for Easter in April today. So you folks at home have that to look forward to!
A bientot
Justin
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
You Say Potato, I Say Potahto, You Say Football, I Say Soccer
STADE DE FRANCE
I was very excited for this. It is the equivalent of going to an NFL game here, except imagine it is the pre-season but everyone shows up for it, and you only have to pay 10 bucks for a ticket. Pretty awesome. The Stade de France trip in bullet points:
I was very excited for this. It is the equivalent of going to an NFL game here, except imagine it is the pre-season but everyone shows up for it, and you only have to pay 10 bucks for a ticket. Pretty awesome. The Stade de France trip in bullet points:
- The RER (the train to the suburbs) was insanely crowded. 0 personal space.
- The stadium is massive and I believe it holds somewhere between 70k and 80k people.
- I had a "hotdog" after the game. It was actually two hotdogs in a baguette. And I thought I put regular mustard on it, I did not. It was for real Dijon... with horseradish. My sinuses were clear.
And here's the Sta
de de France in pictures and videos.
de de France in pictures and videos.
The game ended in a 0-0 tie, which sucked cuz it made the game kind of boring and I will probably have to go back to see an actual goal scored. But I will be going back anyways to see a Rugby game, so be sure to stay posted for that. I hear they're better than soccer games!
A la prochaine,
Justin
A la prochaine,
Justin
The Champagne Tour: A Good Deal
Hello again!
Sorry it has been a while since my last post. Not that I have been busy. I've just been able to procrastinate and had a lot of things go on in the past two weeks that have given me more than enough to think about.
But back again! I've been here for almost two months on the dot now and I've gotten to know the city very well. But one thing I haven't gotten to know that well has been the areas outside of
France. Luckily I had the opportunity last weekend to visit to the east of Paris in two little towns called Eparnay and Reims. They gave me a much needed break for the sights and sounds of the big city, and though the scenery was older and different, the smaller town feel reminded me of home.
We were transported by bus to Eparnay first. On the way there, I slept. But in between my REM cycles I caught brief glimpses of the countryside, which reminded me of Illinois without the corn. I guess that would be Missouri or Michigan. It was very pretty and made me miss the wide open spaces that we have back in the States. We stopped at a BP (yep just like the US BP's) and had a little breakfast. It was in the middle of the highway and was more like a rest stop. I got a croissant and a coffee for about 2 euros, which I thought was a pretty good deal, and one of many to come on the day.
We arrived in Eparnay and our first stop was the Champagne Factory of Castellane. Champagne factories function in the same way wine tour do, so if you've ever been on one of those then you have a relative idea of what this was. The difference between this and any other wine tour that you've probably ever taken is that these cellars and the champagne found in the cellars are VERY VERY old. Like 150 years old. So there was all kind of moss and mold growing all over the walls. Gave the whole place a very dungeony feel. After the wine cellar tour we got a free tasting ("degustation") of champagne. If I really knew my champagne, then I probably would have
appreciated this more. But the difference I noticed between this champagne and what I've drank at home is that I could actually taste the grapes in this champagne. It wasn't masked by a whole lot of sugar, though comparatively the champagne that we drank was one of the sweeter ones.
After our Eparnay champagne, we hopped back on the bus and headed to our next stop: the town of Reims (pronounced in French like "rance"). This town was absolutely delightful with plenty of old buildings and another fantastic cathedral, the Notre Dame de Reims, that seemed to be the center of the town. Some of the parts of it were even a bit more impressive than Notre Dame de Paris. After passing by the cathedral, we all found that we were starving and decided to seek out sustenance. We found a street that looked like one of the main streets and started to walk down them. There weren't an awful lot of restaurants. Instead there were a bunch of clothing and name brand stores for everything. My favorite was the 2 euro store... but we'll come back to that.
We decided upon a small pizza place that had advertised 5 euro pizzas in their window. I expected these pizzas to be very petit like a Pizza Hut personal pan, but they were bigger. They were about the size of what a medium pizza would be in America, and again only 5 euros. But they actually had an even better deal, of which I took full advatage. There was a menu formule (which basically means combo) of a pizza, a beer, a dessert pizza, and a coffee for 11 euros. This is without a doubt the best deal that I have found in Europe so far. And the pizza was fantastic. I ordered the "Germanic" pizza which had pieces of German ham, some pepperoini shaped sausage, white asparagus, artichoke hearts, and artichoke hearts all as toppings. Again, by itself, it would have only been 5 euros. Fantastic, deal #2. Deal #3 came after the pizza, when we revisited the two euro store. It was like a bargain hunter's heaven. They had big stuff, little stuff, and medium stuff all for two euros. Just like a Deals, except twice as expensive. Knowing I needed to take full advantage of this opportunity, I bought two small rammakins and a long
necked lighter, in which I am attempting to perfect Creme Brulee. (The first attempt tasted fine but the eggs scrambled a bit so it was a little chunky, but I'll get it). I was very happy with everything I found in this nice little town outside of Paris. I got a few other pictures of the quaint village, and you can see them in the new Facebook album I put up.
Overall, the trip was really fun and worth the small amount of money I paid for it. I'm excited to go on other excursions like it to the other small French towns. This weekend we are taking a trip to Brettagne and Normandy. Should be an enlightening experience.
TTFN (TaTa For Now)
Justin
Sorry it has been a while since my last post. Not that I have been busy. I've just been able to procrastinate and had a lot of things go on in the past two weeks that have given me more than enough to think about.
But back again! I've been here for almost two months on the dot now and I've gotten to know the city very well. But one thing I haven't gotten to know that well has been the areas outside of
France. Luckily I had the opportunity last weekend to visit to the east of Paris in two little towns called Eparnay and Reims. They gave me a much needed break for the sights and sounds of the big city, and though the scenery was older and different, the smaller town feel reminded me of home.We were transported by bus to Eparnay first. On the way there, I slept. But in between my REM cycles I caught brief glimpses of the countryside, which reminded me of Illinois without the corn. I guess that would be Missouri or Michigan. It was very pretty and made me miss the wide open spaces that we have back in the States. We stopped at a BP (yep just like the US BP's) and had a little breakfast. It was in the middle of the highway and was more like a rest stop. I got a croissant and a coffee for about 2 euros, which I thought was a pretty good deal, and one of many to come on the day.
We arrived in Eparnay and our first stop was the Champagne Factory of Castellane. Champagne factories function in the same way wine tour do, so if you've ever been on one of those then you have a relative idea of what this was. The difference between this and any other wine tour that you've probably ever taken is that these cellars and the champagne found in the cellars are VERY VERY old. Like 150 years old. So there was all kind of moss and mold growing all over the walls. Gave the whole place a very dungeony feel. After the wine cellar tour we got a free tasting ("degustation") of champagne. If I really knew my champagne, then I probably would have
appreciated this more. But the difference I noticed between this champagne and what I've drank at home is that I could actually taste the grapes in this champagne. It wasn't masked by a whole lot of sugar, though comparatively the champagne that we drank was one of the sweeter ones.
After our Eparnay champagne, we hopped back on the bus and headed to our next stop: the town of Reims (pronounced in French like "rance"). This town was absolutely delightful with plenty of old buildings and another fantastic cathedral, the Notre Dame de Reims, that seemed to be the center of the town. Some of the parts of it were even a bit more impressive than Notre Dame de Paris. After passing by the cathedral, we all found that we were starving and decided to seek out sustenance. We found a street that looked like one of the main streets and started to walk down them. There weren't an awful lot of restaurants. Instead there were a bunch of clothing and name brand stores for everything. My favorite was the 2 euro store... but we'll come back to that.
We decided upon a small pizza place that had advertised 5 euro pizzas in their window. I expected these pizzas to be very petit like a Pizza Hut personal pan, but they were bigger. They were about the size of what a medium pizza would be in America, and again only 5 euros. But they actually had an even better deal, of which I took full advatage. There was a menu formule (which basically means combo) of a pizza, a beer, a dessert pizza, and a coffee for 11 euros. This is without a doubt the best deal that I have found in Europe so far. And the pizza was fantastic. I ordered the "Germanic" pizza which had pieces of German ham, some pepperoini shaped sausage, white asparagus, artichoke hearts, and artichoke hearts all as toppings. Again, by itself, it would have only been 5 euros. Fantastic, deal #2. Deal #3 came after the pizza, when we revisited the two euro store. It was like a bargain hunter's heaven. They had big stuff, little stuff, and medium stuff all for two euros. Just like a Deals, except twice as expensive. Knowing I needed to take full advantage of this opportunity, I bought two small rammakins and a long
necked lighter, in which I am attempting to perfect Creme Brulee. (The first attempt tasted fine but the eggs scrambled a bit so it was a little chunky, but I'll get it). I was very happy with everything I found in this nice little town outside of Paris. I got a few other pictures of the quaint village, and you can see them in the new Facebook album I put up.Overall, the trip was really fun and worth the small amount of money I paid for it. I'm excited to go on other excursions like it to the other small French towns. This weekend we are taking a trip to Brettagne and Normandy. Should be an enlightening experience.
TTFN (TaTa For Now)
Justin
Monday, November 3, 2008
Vacation's all I ever wanted...
Salut!
So after another wasted night away I've decided to finally update the blog after my week of vacation. The Agenda didn't quite work out as I had hoped. It was a combination of rainy weather during my walking time, long tourist lines, and me underestimating my desire to nap... a lot. However I was able to see a few new things and take pictures of places that I had not yet been.
My best discovery of the week was the Jardin des Tuileries. Though it wasn't all that much to look at in late October, what made it special was the scenery surrounding it. One can look down the Champs Elysees, past the place de la Concorde at the Arc de Triomphe. Slightly left, you can see the Eiffel Tower peaking out over the scenery, and behind you is the Louvre and it's big pyramid. It's a great starting point/end point for a tour. And certain relatives may get this tour if/when they come.
I got to hang out with a few friends from the United States who had been on a Eurotrip throughout Europe, and from the sound of it they had literally been everywhere in Western Europe. They didn't get to explore much of Eastern Europe but it definitely sounded like they had enjoyed their travels. I also made dinner with a couple of other friends on another night right before we went to a brief visit to the Centre Pompidou, and it was the best dinner I have yet had here.
All in all, though I slept a lot, I saw a lot, and it turned out to be a pretty great week.
So I've been here for a month now and what have I learned.
1) Paris is beautiful. Not just because of the history behind every building, but because of the care put into maintaining this city and its culture.
2) The French processes are slow. Everything seems to take 3 times longer here than it does in the States. I still have not gotten my Metro pass and I applied for it October 9th. Frustrating, but I believe that is part of the experience.
3) REALLY learning French is a long process. It's not just a pick it up within a week and you're set deal. Each day I learn a new vocabulary word and a new way to say something. And when I don't practice French, I either lose it or am not improving.
4) Learning a foreign language opens doors. Not only am I able to communicate with millions of other people in France, and share knowledge with them and they with me, but I can communicate with other millions of people around the world who also speak French. That's a big opportunity that I could have missed otherwise.
I'm so excited for my visitors to come. Though I know it will not be for a while. This November is going to be quite long for me because I have no projects to do for any of my classes and only two weekend excursions planned for sure. I am working on getting a job as a tour guide with New Paris tours, which my roommate Nicole introduced me to. Hopefully, that will occupy my time as well as provide a little income.
And a big thank you to those of you who have sent or will be sending packages in the future. It really just makes my week when I get a package full of neat stuff, and it turns out that I like Mac 'n Cheese a lot more than I let on in the States.
Excited for the election tomorrow!
Justin
So after another wasted night away I've decided to finally update the blog after my week of vacation. The Agenda didn't quite work out as I had hoped. It was a combination of rainy weather during my walking time, long tourist lines, and me underestimating my desire to nap... a lot. However I was able to see a few new things and take pictures of places that I had not yet been.
My best discovery of the week was the Jardin des Tuileries. Though it wasn't all that much to look at in late October, what made it special was the scenery surrounding it. One can look down the Champs Elysees, past the place de la Concorde at the Arc de Triomphe. Slightly left, you can see the Eiffel Tower peaking out over the scenery, and behind you is the Louvre and it's big pyramid. It's a great starting point/end point for a tour. And certain relatives may get this tour if/when they come.
I got to hang out with a few friends from the United States who had been on a Eurotrip throughout Europe, and from the sound of it they had literally been everywhere in Western Europe. They didn't get to explore much of Eastern Europe but it definitely sounded like they had enjoyed their travels. I also made dinner with a couple of other friends on another night right before we went to a brief visit to the Centre Pompidou, and it was the best dinner I have yet had here.
All in all, though I slept a lot, I saw a lot, and it turned out to be a pretty great week.
So I've been here for a month now and what have I learned.
1) Paris is beautiful. Not just because of the history behind every building, but because of the care put into maintaining this city and its culture.
2) The French processes are slow. Everything seems to take 3 times longer here than it does in the States. I still have not gotten my Metro pass and I applied for it October 9th. Frustrating, but I believe that is part of the experience.
3) REALLY learning French is a long process. It's not just a pick it up within a week and you're set deal. Each day I learn a new vocabulary word and a new way to say something. And when I don't practice French, I either lose it or am not improving.
4) Learning a foreign language opens doors. Not only am I able to communicate with millions of other people in France, and share knowledge with them and they with me, but I can communicate with other millions of people around the world who also speak French. That's a big opportunity that I could have missed otherwise.
I'm so excited for my visitors to come. Though I know it will not be for a while. This November is going to be quite long for me because I have no projects to do for any of my classes and only two weekend excursions planned for sure. I am working on getting a job as a tour guide with New Paris tours, which my roommate Nicole introduced me to. Hopefully, that will occupy my time as well as provide a little income.
And a big thank you to those of you who have sent or will be sending packages in the future. It really just makes my week when I get a package full of neat stuff, and it turns out that I like Mac 'n Cheese a lot more than I let on in the States.
Excited for the election tomorrow!
Justin
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