Bonjour. I've decided that Travelpod isn't as cool as blogspot, so here I am. Hopefully, my Travelpod posts will be moved over to this site soon, in the meantime here is the link for that blog:
http://images.travelpod.com/members/ashleyelizabeth
I've got to leave for class in 15 minutes, donc a toute a l'heure mes amies!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
We stayed in Montpellier this past weekend and it was a blast! Friday Andrea and I drank a bottle of wine here (and danced around the apartment to Sara B, like the dorks we are) then I went to the Aussi bar with Katrice, Danielle and her friends who were visiting from Barcelona. The only time I'm glad they play American music in France is when we go dancing. It's so much better when you know the words and can sing along. Saturday the plan was to bike to the Medditerranean Sea and have a pique-nique on the beach, but after finding out that it would be four hours of biking we decided to bus it. So, we took the tram to the Place de L'Europe, and waited for the bus. Then this crazy woman shows up mumbling nonsensical french to us (well really it probably was legit Francias, but we couldn't understand her) then asks me if she can use my phone to call her friend and tell him she's going to be late because the bus wasn't going to come for another hour. Me, being me and not knowing how to say no, let her use my phone. Then she proceeded to follow us around for a bit, and we decided that bussing to the beach wasn't really worth waiting at the bus stop for an hour with this crazy French woman. So we headed to the mall and did a bit a shopping :). That night we tested out a few bars, and I've got to say Aussi bar is still my fav. Sunday was my alone time/get stuff done day. One good thing about staying here: CLEAN CLOTHES! wahoo! even if they still take three days to dry...
Yesterday was Katrice's bday, so I bought her a birthday crepe then Mariah and I did homework at Book in Bar and I bought some amazing apricot tea from this cute little shop on one of the side streets. Last night, we went out for FONDUE (delicious fondue) for Katrice's 21st! What an experience! 17 euros gets you a house cocktail (Kir de peche, white wine, and a little rum... sooo good) , salad, baked potatoes, fondue, wine served in baby bottles, and an interesting dessert. In the middle of dinner we decided that we were going to need more wine for Katrice's apartment, so Danielle and I ran to Monoprix then came back and had dessert. We really are the classiest girls ever. Seriously. And to further prove my point I will tell you what we did after dinner: President and Asshole, with wine. It was great.
Class pretty much kicked my butt today seeing as I seem to have developed a french form of ADD. And we have another pointless MaxSA assignment due on Friday. Not only is it completely pointless, but I found out that they're not even doing MaxSA next semester! I'm mad. It's such a waste of time! bah. Oh well, it's an extra credit? Maybe?
D'accord, I've got class at nine so bonne nuit mes amis!
Je vous aime! Bisous!
Yesterday was Katrice's bday, so I bought her a birthday crepe then Mariah and I did homework at Book in Bar and I bought some amazing apricot tea from this cute little shop on one of the side streets. Last night, we went out for FONDUE (delicious fondue) for Katrice's 21st! What an experience! 17 euros gets you a house cocktail (Kir de peche, white wine, and a little rum... sooo good) , salad, baked potatoes, fondue, wine served in baby bottles, and an interesting dessert. In the middle of dinner we decided that we were going to need more wine for Katrice's apartment, so Danielle and I ran to Monoprix then came back and had dessert. We really are the classiest girls ever. Seriously. And to further prove my point I will tell you what we did after dinner: President and Asshole, with wine. It was great.
Class pretty much kicked my butt today seeing as I seem to have developed a french form of ADD. And we have another pointless MaxSA assignment due on Friday. Not only is it completely pointless, but I found out that they're not even doing MaxSA next semester! I'm mad. It's such a waste of time! bah. Oh well, it's an extra credit? Maybe?
D'accord, I've got class at nine so bonne nuit mes amis!
Je vous aime! Bisous!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The Swiss get l'eau
Okay, so I'm not actually IN Switzerland as I'm writing this, but I wanted another map pin. Yes, I am lame. It's okay. Now, on to more important business. Geneva. What a gorgeous city! Allie, Danielle, Erika, and Lauren all had earlier trains but Katrice and I had class until 3:30 Friday so we met the rest of the girls at the train station on Friday night. I've decided that the SNCF people are not very bright. They over booked our train, so we got to stand for about an hour and a half between Nimes and Geneva. It was widly hilarious and we ended up being the obnoxious giggly American girls. But it's cool, we had fun.
Friday night we checked in at the hostel, and we were all pretty beat by that time, so we just went to bed. Saturday morning we woke up for breakfast then headed out to see the city! FYI: Switzerland is cold in February. Our first stop was the botanical gardens. While we were waiting for the bus we stopped in to a little boutique to warm up. This is the last weekend of the soldes in France, and we're pretty sure Geneva is confused and thinks it's in France, so it was their last weekend of soldes too. But, boy is it an expensive city! We did a lot of window shopping and no buying since we're all trying to save money for travel.
The Gardens were pretty and fun, and we saw some giant bunny squirrel things, and they made me think of you Jep, and I tried to get a picture, but it didn't work out too well.
Then we walked to the United Nations building, took some pics with the sign and the flags, and the GIANT three legged chair across the street. By that time we were hungry again, so where do we eat? That's right McDo. Outrageously overpriced McDo. It was delicious, and I got an Asterix musical toy in my Happy Meal. That right there pretty much made the trip! After lunch, it was time to see the jet d'eau. We walked all the way out to the lake, out on the pier. No l'eau. Just a sign that gives some facts, like the jet is over 400 meters tall, and pumps a lot of liters every second. Disappointed, we started to wander around the city. We stopped at the Musee d'art et d'histoire de Geneve. Want to know whats in that museum? Replicas of paintings from other museums. Good thing it was free. The building itself was really pretty though, so I guess that's something. We headed to the cathedral and found a cute little square where Allie and Erika bought gelato. Then while were playing in the playground outside the cathedral, I notice the tip of the jet d'eau over buildings!! So, we walked back down to the lake and saw the l'eau. It's pretty sweet, with the mountains in the backgroud and the boats and architecture. It makes for some good pics. After that we decided that as true fans of Dan Brown and the Internet, we should go see CERN. We get on a bus, which drops us off on the on-ramp to an interstate! and wait for our connecting route. Pretty amusing. Turns out that CERN has some pretty strict security codes, and you can't just walk in. Who knew? So we got to see the Alps for the first time, took some pics of the campus and ended up going back into town on the same bus we came out on, made our first stop at a Carrefour and head back to the hostel to find dinner. Erika and I ate at a Japanese place and I got some really great Curry. I think I may attempt to learn to make curry. I've been proven to be a terrible cook here though, so we'll see how that actually turns out.
Sunday, Katrice and I wandered around the city, near the lake to stay in the sun. We took some of the most random ridiculous pictures ever, and it was a lot of fun! Then to warm up, we stopped at Starbucks and got lattees and treats and filled out our postcards for a while. The train ride home was pretty uneventful. No standing. We did however, end up being the only people in BOTH of the train stations we had layovers in. What fun!
This week has been good. I had to renew my tram pass and go grocery shopping yesterday. There is an Aldi here!! Andrea and I found it a couple of weeks ago. I love it because I'd really rather spend my money on something other than groceries thank you very much. Then today Mariah and I booked our trip to Paris in two weeks! I can't wait for my first time in the City of Lights! Ah! Then I get to go back when dad comes to visit on the 22nd!
I really am a very lucky little girl...
Tomorrow I'm going to get my culture pass so that we can go to discounted French films, and Andrea and I are going with Fanja and her friend Caps to a concert!! I am really excited to hear some French music. Seriously, all they play here is American/British music and I'm sick of it!!
Well seeing as I've got class at 8:30 tomorrow morning, I think that will be all for now.
A Bientot mes amis!
Friday night we checked in at the hostel, and we were all pretty beat by that time, so we just went to bed. Saturday morning we woke up for breakfast then headed out to see the city! FYI: Switzerland is cold in February. Our first stop was the botanical gardens. While we were waiting for the bus we stopped in to a little boutique to warm up. This is the last weekend of the soldes in France, and we're pretty sure Geneva is confused and thinks it's in France, so it was their last weekend of soldes too. But, boy is it an expensive city! We did a lot of window shopping and no buying since we're all trying to save money for travel.
The Gardens were pretty and fun, and we saw some giant bunny squirrel things, and they made me think of you Jep, and I tried to get a picture, but it didn't work out too well.
Then we walked to the United Nations building, took some pics with the sign and the flags, and the GIANT three legged chair across the street. By that time we were hungry again, so where do we eat? That's right McDo. Outrageously overpriced McDo. It was delicious, and I got an Asterix musical toy in my Happy Meal. That right there pretty much made the trip! After lunch, it was time to see the jet d'eau. We walked all the way out to the lake, out on the pier. No l'eau. Just a sign that gives some facts, like the jet is over 400 meters tall, and pumps a lot of liters every second. Disappointed, we started to wander around the city. We stopped at the Musee d'art et d'histoire de Geneve. Want to know whats in that museum? Replicas of paintings from other museums. Good thing it was free. The building itself was really pretty though, so I guess that's something. We headed to the cathedral and found a cute little square where Allie and Erika bought gelato. Then while were playing in the playground outside the cathedral, I notice the tip of the jet d'eau over buildings!! So, we walked back down to the lake and saw the l'eau. It's pretty sweet, with the mountains in the backgroud and the boats and architecture. It makes for some good pics. After that we decided that as true fans of Dan Brown and the Internet, we should go see CERN. We get on a bus, which drops us off on the on-ramp to an interstate! and wait for our connecting route. Pretty amusing. Turns out that CERN has some pretty strict security codes, and you can't just walk in. Who knew? So we got to see the Alps for the first time, took some pics of the campus and ended up going back into town on the same bus we came out on, made our first stop at a Carrefour and head back to the hostel to find dinner. Erika and I ate at a Japanese place and I got some really great Curry. I think I may attempt to learn to make curry. I've been proven to be a terrible cook here though, so we'll see how that actually turns out.
Sunday, Katrice and I wandered around the city, near the lake to stay in the sun. We took some of the most random ridiculous pictures ever, and it was a lot of fun! Then to warm up, we stopped at Starbucks and got lattees and treats and filled out our postcards for a while. The train ride home was pretty uneventful. No standing. We did however, end up being the only people in BOTH of the train stations we had layovers in. What fun!
This week has been good. I had to renew my tram pass and go grocery shopping yesterday. There is an Aldi here!! Andrea and I found it a couple of weeks ago. I love it because I'd really rather spend my money on something other than groceries thank you very much. Then today Mariah and I booked our trip to Paris in two weeks! I can't wait for my first time in the City of Lights! Ah! Then I get to go back when dad comes to visit on the 22nd!
I really am a very lucky little girl...
Tomorrow I'm going to get my culture pass so that we can go to discounted French films, and Andrea and I are going with Fanja and her friend Caps to a concert!! I am really excited to hear some French music. Seriously, all they play here is American/British music and I'm sick of it!!
Well seeing as I've got class at 8:30 tomorrow morning, I think that will be all for now.
A Bientot mes amis!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Things I like about France (part duex)
1. Irish pubs with cute bartenders. Some girls and I went to O, Carolan's last night. The bartenders speak English (and hence, speak French slowly enough for me to understand) and are more than a little attractive.
2. Saturdays. No joke, everyone goes out on Saturdays. I'm not one for big crowds but here it's cool to see everyone outside shopping, eating paninis, and drinking beer with their lunch ( I haven't tried this one yet, maybe soon).
3. Sundays. At first I thought I was going to hate Sundays. Absolutely everything is closed on Sunday, and doesn't open up again until sometime after noon on Monday. The French really like their leisure time. It gives me a good excuse to put off my homework until Sunday though.
4. Cafes. They all double as bars at night. Who knew? Not me, until last night.
5. Random celebrations on the Place. Yesterday there was a Chinese New Year celebration, then a few hundred meters away, a Jamaican celebration. wahoo for festivities.
6. Baguettes and Compte. I need to stop eating this. Seriously, Andrea and I go through a block of Compte a day, it's ridiculous.
7. Markets on the esplanade. 6 euro sunglasses, fresh pasteries, cheap fresh fruit, veggies, and flowers...all outside, in February. Take that Midwest, I hear you have over a foot and a half of snow.
8. Les Bises, the three kisses on the cheek, they actually do that here (quite a bit actually)! I feel so European.
9. Orangina, 'nuff said.
10. Le disothéque... on ice. We went ice skating in America town (aka the Odysseum, I swear it feels like Orlando, not France) and the skating rink had strobe lights, disco balls, and some pretty sweet techno music.
11. Travel! I'm going to Switzerland next weekend and my train ticket was less than $120 round trip. hahahaa. And it might be cheaper, we think the people at the Gare (train station) screwed us, so we're going back tomorrow.
Which leads me too:
things that make me question the French:
1. Stupid people at the Gare, not helpful, at least with me. My friends have all had better experiences than I have.
2. way too much PDA. On the tram, the esplanade, in stores, at cafes. Seriously these French people can't keep their hands off each other! Although, I have to admit most of them are pretty attractive so I can't really blame them.
3. America is everywhere! I think I've heard about 5 French songs on the radio since I've gotten here, and they play bad American music too, a lot of Enrique and Avril, and really bad 80s music everywhere. There are four McDo's in Montpellier, at least two Sylvan learning centers, 3 Subway Sub shops, and a Cafe Route 66. Plus they sell about 6 different kinds of frozen fries and hamburgers at every grocery store. Why in the world would you eat frozen fries and burgers when French food is about three trillion times better?
2. Saturdays. No joke, everyone goes out on Saturdays. I'm not one for big crowds but here it's cool to see everyone outside shopping, eating paninis, and drinking beer with their lunch ( I haven't tried this one yet, maybe soon).
3. Sundays. At first I thought I was going to hate Sundays. Absolutely everything is closed on Sunday, and doesn't open up again until sometime after noon on Monday. The French really like their leisure time. It gives me a good excuse to put off my homework until Sunday though.
4. Cafes. They all double as bars at night. Who knew? Not me, until last night.
5. Random celebrations on the Place. Yesterday there was a Chinese New Year celebration, then a few hundred meters away, a Jamaican celebration. wahoo for festivities.
6. Baguettes and Compte. I need to stop eating this. Seriously, Andrea and I go through a block of Compte a day, it's ridiculous.
7. Markets on the esplanade. 6 euro sunglasses, fresh pasteries, cheap fresh fruit, veggies, and flowers...all outside, in February. Take that Midwest, I hear you have over a foot and a half of snow.
8. Les Bises, the three kisses on the cheek, they actually do that here (quite a bit actually)! I feel so European.
9. Orangina, 'nuff said.
10. Le disothéque... on ice. We went ice skating in America town (aka the Odysseum, I swear it feels like Orlando, not France) and the skating rink had strobe lights, disco balls, and some pretty sweet techno music.
11. Travel! I'm going to Switzerland next weekend and my train ticket was less than $120 round trip. hahahaa. And it might be cheaper, we think the people at the Gare (train station) screwed us, so we're going back tomorrow.
Which leads me too:
things that make me question the French:
1. Stupid people at the Gare, not helpful, at least with me. My friends have all had better experiences than I have.
2. way too much PDA. On the tram, the esplanade, in stores, at cafes. Seriously these French people can't keep their hands off each other! Although, I have to admit most of them are pretty attractive so I can't really blame them.
3. America is everywhere! I think I've heard about 5 French songs on the radio since I've gotten here, and they play bad American music too, a lot of Enrique and Avril, and really bad 80s music everywhere. There are four McDo's in Montpellier, at least two Sylvan learning centers, 3 Subway Sub shops, and a Cafe Route 66. Plus they sell about 6 different kinds of frozen fries and hamburgers at every grocery store. Why in the world would you eat frozen fries and burgers when French food is about three trillion times better?
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
language fatigue ain't no joke.
Things I love about France:
the food (the crepes, the cheese, the wine! The landscape, the architecture, the laidback lifestyle, the art museums, the weather (it's been in the 50s almost everyday!), reading on the esplanade because it's so nice out, my room.
Things I dislike about France:
the tram, the internet, being tired ALL the time!
Seriously, these people are so chill and laid back about everything, except the tram. The tram is like the light rail for those of you from Minnesota, and it comes every three minutes. The way people push and shove to get on you'd think there was only one per hour or something. but no, every three minutes. This morning, I had class at 9. By the time I got to school, I didn't even need to hold on to anything to keep from falling when the train stopped and started. I barely moved. It's at moments like these I get frustrated with the French people. Also, when they don't even attempt to move on the sidewalks. Also, when the internet sucks, which is a lot.
I realize I sound like a spoiled American here, but I'm okay with that. I would like to be able to talk to my friends and family, thank you very much.
Okay enough of me being cranky with the French. I just thought if this is going to be an accurate journal I might as well post about things that frustrate me as well as the things that make me deliriously happy.
My classes are going well, I just found out that I get one grade for study abroad and it's worth 16 credits. I better get an A. 16 credits of an A would be simply fabulous. So that's the goal. I just have to make myself do my homework everynight and not skip more than one Friday... which maybe might be difficult. Maybe not.
the food (the crepes, the cheese, the wine! The landscape, the architecture, the laidback lifestyle, the art museums, the weather (it's been in the 50s almost everyday!), reading on the esplanade because it's so nice out, my room.
Things I dislike about France:
the tram, the internet, being tired ALL the time!
Seriously, these people are so chill and laid back about everything, except the tram. The tram is like the light rail for those of you from Minnesota, and it comes every three minutes. The way people push and shove to get on you'd think there was only one per hour or something. but no, every three minutes. This morning, I had class at 9. By the time I got to school, I didn't even need to hold on to anything to keep from falling when the train stopped and started. I barely moved. It's at moments like these I get frustrated with the French people. Also, when they don't even attempt to move on the sidewalks. Also, when the internet sucks, which is a lot.
I realize I sound like a spoiled American here, but I'm okay with that. I would like to be able to talk to my friends and family, thank you very much.
Okay enough of me being cranky with the French. I just thought if this is going to be an accurate journal I might as well post about things that frustrate me as well as the things that make me deliriously happy.
My classes are going well, I just found out that I get one grade for study abroad and it's worth 16 credits. I better get an A. 16 credits of an A would be simply fabulous. So that's the goal. I just have to make myself do my homework everynight and not skip more than one Friday... which maybe might be difficult. Maybe not.
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