Alsace

Lets see, this past weekend I went to Strasbourg, Colmare, and Riquewhir. No I am not sure on the spelling, I can't even pronounce 2 of them properly. I rode my first TGV, that was exciting. I sat by Grant and watched The Flight of the Concords on his iPod. And I also slept. Ok, I mostly slept. We got there and it was COLD!! So cold. And rainy. Brr. I have been spoiled in Paris recently with some beautiful weather. This was the opposite of beautiful weather. Anyways, we had a tour of the cathedral, which was the most beautiful color. A red sandy color. So pretty. We had dinner at some famous restaurant, Chez Yvonne. It was disgusting!! I hate pork in general, I don't even like pepperonis. And we had sauerkraut and pork. Absolutely grotesque. A piece of my meat literally had hair follicles on it. And then dessert came and I said whew, but it was also repulsive. Apparently some kind of rum raisin thing. If anyone knows me at all, they know I utterly detest raisins. So that was basically the worst meal I have ever had! I was so sad.
The next morning, (sidenote: Jill didn't want to sleep on the top bunk, so we slept in the bottom bunk together, and I totally hit her in the face while we were sleeping - future husband beware!) we went to Riquewhir, which is akin to Napa Valley in ye olden days. Cute little houses, vineyards, but not much else. I bought peach gelato (another side note: they don't have ice cream so much, just gelato). From there we toured Colmare. We had a lovely lunch - plat du jour - in a small cafe where the couple next to us stared at us literally the entire time and never said a word to each other. We found a great chocolate shop and had a tour of the city. Several chocolate shops later, we discovered the fair! Now this was mainly a little kid's fair, with things like ring toss and train rides. What was painted all over these items? Oh, just naked women in scandalous poses. I know I want my 5 year old son looking at a nude woman sprawled out on the beach when he is riding Dumbo...We did find a fun looking ride called Boomerang. It was a lot of fun, until it was over and I thought I might die. I was soo sick (3 hours of straight chocolate - hey! Easter is coming up and all the chocolate is out, I was a victim!!). We drove by the EU buildings on the way home, where G20 and Obama are going this week. The next day, we stayed in Strasbourg, after a tour of Little France (why we needed to tour Little France when we live in big France is beyond me) I went to a small book market and found a few books for about a euro each. Exciting. A kabob and some pastries later, we were safely on the TGV back to Paris. That evening we went out to Sushi. It was Chris's first time. I remember my first time getting sushi, I hated it!! But now, 5 years later, I willingly pay to eat it. Funny how that works. A crepe topped off the evening and the weekend was made complete by 2 pm ward conference in Surcelles. Dinner included. Awesome. By the way: this was my absolute favorite sign I have ever seen. It means Let us seduce you with our Alsatian souvenirs.

Snails and Staying Up Late

After watching the sun set behind the Eiffel Tower, I had escargot for the first time. I was really excited. It came out in all of its glory, snail shells filled with green algae looking sauce, along with clamps. I kept thinking of Julia Roberts, "Slippery little suckers." It was pretty exciting. I also wanted to chronicle what a metro looks like at 10 pm on a Friday night.
I have recently developed the bad habit of staying up very late reading, or talking to people on skye/facebook. This is awkward because I don't really feel like I live in this apartment. I am just a guest here, so when I get up at 2am to get a drink of water, I feel like I am intruding on their lives. I'm continually afraid they will wake up, and see me and be like what are you doing in my kitchen at 2 am?

I love Paris in the Springtime!!!

YAY!! It's finally spring! Like the roll your sleeves up, nap on the lawn, eat on the patio, listen to birds singing type of Spring! A few weeks ago the sun came out and I went to the park, I was so excited I wanted to blog about it. But then I didn't take any pictures, and it didn't get sunny again for a long time. Plus while I was in the park, I was FREEZING my butt off, but still trying to absorb sunlight. Then this week happened. And I just can't describe my joy. Everyday this week has been gorgeous! We did yoga in front of the Eiffel Tower, we played soccer (in shorts!), I opened my windows while writing my essay and basked in the sun, I sat on a patio outside a cafe, I wore a short sleeved shirt around, I napped at the Musée Rodin, and I ate macaroons in the park. It was gorgeous. The sky was a crazy BLUE!! Not that grey that I have become so acustomed to. And today I went to the park and it was so crowded with people. The old people sit on the benches and the young people lay on the grass (I sat on the benches ha ha). And just when you don't think it can get any better, I remember this: I'm living in one of Monet's paintings. He painted the Parc Monceau. So basically, I am in it. Plus, just in case anyone was getting bored, we decided to go to Cleopatre. And it was amazing. Absolutely wonderful. I loved it. It was like a musical Cirque du Soleil. Astounding. And fun. :) Plus I just love dressing up.

Normandy

On Thursday our trip was off to a rocky start. Our short bus was late and one of the girls didn't make it, and we ended up having to go get her. We were over an hour late to start our excursion. We started out in Caen, at a World War II museum. It starts at the top of a hallway, and it spirals down into darkness as WWII begins and you are plunged into the obscurities of war. Next we went to the Tapestry of Bayeaux. It's long and old. As much as I wasn't looking forward to it, it was pretty neat. It tells the story of William the Conqueror. Which also ties into WWII, because the British like to point out they they liberated the same region that conquered them. Next we went to the Cathedral then to our hotel. As we left our hotel the next morning, the lady who ran the hotel came outside and walked up and down the street waving the American flag. It was pretty funny. We went to Arromanches (Gold Beach) on Friday and saw the remains of the portable port that they shipped over from England. It was pretty amazing, especially to imagine Churchill thinking that up. "I know! We'll build a port here, then ship it over there! During war!!" Then we went to the Normandy Cemetery and Memorial at Omaha Beach. It was amazing. It's American soil, and it is the most beautiful place I have seen in France so far. It was striking to see just how far the beaches were from the vantage point of the Germans, it makes you realize the miracle of how those troops took the beachhead. Truly amazing. This was also the most peaceful and tranquil place I have ever been. It was a beautiful sunny day, warm and not a lot of wind, all the trees and flowers are beginning to bloom and birds were singing everywhere. It was just amazing to sit there and admire the beauty and appreciate the sacrifices made for us. From there we went to Point du Hoc, which they have kept preserved with all the shell craters and rubble from the German bunkers. It was pretty exciting. Our last stop of the day was at Utah Beach. The tide was low, and we walked along the beach and saw tanks, the landing crafts, and artillery. That night we stayed in a lovely hotel, where there was a tub!! I was super excited and took a bubble bath! On the downside, we had to share beds.
The next morning, the hotel manager came onto our bus and passed around candy. haha. Then we made our way to Mont Saint Michel. It was cold at first, and it was super windy. My hair looked fabulous. It was high tide, so it looked like an island. It was really exciting. We toured the Abbey and town and it cleared up and became warm (though still windy outside the town). I even bought an ice cream cone! I also got 2 striped shirts, I am very excited about them. :)
We had a 4 hour bus ride home (the most uncomfortable bus!) then I had a slumber party with Brooke, Claire and Aly. It was so much fun! And we finally got to sleep in, we were all pretty exhausted.

Friday

After waking up and finding out out what I will be doing for the next two years, I celebrated. First I went and got my favorite pastry and ate it at the Eiffel Tower. It was a little chilly out, but mostly sunny. I walked around the 7th arrondisment for a little while, just enjoying my life and the sun. Then I headed over to the Latin Quarter. I wanted to see La Sorbonne, maybe buy a sweatshirt. So I ventured over there, but you are not allowed in. So all you see is a building. After, I wandered over to the Panthéon. As soon as I learned it was free admission for students, I went in. I saw the tombs of Voltiare, Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. I also saw Foucault's pendulum which proves the earth rotates. What was interesting to me was that there was a lot of unused space. This is because (I assume) they are planning on having more people entombed there. So half of the crypts are empty on account of future dead French writers, philosophers, and poets. Anyways, it was a fun little adventure.
Afterwards, I wandered again (because experience had taught me there was not a metro station very closeby). I saw Lycee Henri IV. That is where all the characters of my high school French book went to school. It's probably the most famous high school in France. Then, I ended up finding a fun little bookstore where I caved and bought a cookbook. I love cookbooks, and how could I resist Les Basiques: 80 illustrated recipes. I mean it's French cooking, I have to remember Paris somehow! When I exited the store, I saw about 4 men yelling out strawberry prices. It looked so excited I decided to venture down then street. Sure enough, it was like a little market street. Men sitting in doorways reading and waiting for the next customers, coffee tasting, wine tasting, Scallops - 12 for 12E, flowers and fruits. Everyone was just a hustle and a bustle. It was one of the most fun streets I think I have ever seen. I want to live somewhere near a fun street like that someday. I never get tired of seeing meat roasting on a spit in the middle of the street. It just looks and smells so tasty. With all the drippings landing on potatoes.
I didn't get a sweatshirt (couldn't find one), but I still consider myself triumphant. Basic French cuisine is mine to master, and yes, Jessica, it has La Ratatouille. I'll make it for you and we can watch little Remy together sometime.
It was a wonderful day, and I am still dancing on air because of Loma Linda!!

New Crest

Goodbye Blue and White: Hello Purple and Gold!!! That's right! Come September, I will be sporting a new college sweater, and I couldn't be happier!