Gondola Ride with the Girls

And just when I thought I had seen the most beautiful places in Europe, I went to Italy...and fell in love. Sadly not with a gorgeous Italian man, but the scenery, food, architecture, people, language which was good enough for me.  Wednesday after class we headed off to Venice, a city that from the beginning was on my "Must See If Possible" list.  We landed and took a bus from the airport, and were greeted by the most magical city I have ever been to.  Not going to lie it took me until morning to realize that cars weren't allowed at all in the city, but you can definitely feel the difference with people wandering the streets and no constant sound of engines. We laughed as we made our way to our Bed and Breakfast because they told us to take the "green bridge," as we learned the next day on our gondola ride there are 415 bridges in Venice...clearly the B&B missed that! We made it though and were greeted by the most adorable little Italian home.  They showed us to our HUGE room (by college kid standards), where we had an espresso machine and a bathroom bigger than my bathroom at home.  
We changed and headed out to try and find a restaurant Da Mamo.  The taxi system in Venice is like a ferry, and not the simplest system.  Luckily we had gotten a book made for college students in Venice that helped to map out routes to key locations.  We found the restaurant next to the Rialto Bridge, and here we had an amazing traditional Venetian meal.  We got free appetizers, and then three pasta dishes to share.  AMAZING SEAFOOD.  We tried a dish that's pasta and cuttlefish with black octopus ink sauce, it looked scary but it was so good. The waiters were hysterical and we got free lemon cello shots and a dessert shot in a chocolate shot glass. It was a nice change from France where you get exactly what you pay for. Here comes a funny side story that will be important later...we decided to mess around and pretend it was one of our friends birthdays (the waiters knew it wasn't it was just funny) and so we sang some ridiculous birthday song and went on our merry way....little did we know we would be in a Florence Pizza Shop and bump into a couple from that night who wished my friend a happy birthday! Small world... We got a great night sleep and the next morning we were greeted by how colorful the city was! It was breathtaking! Off we went to see Peggy Guggenheim's personal collection of art, and after seeing plenty of Pollock and Picasso we went to Saint Mark's Square. I got a pop up book of key places to see in Venice, and so we ran around like tourists looking for the spots in the book! Once we reached Saint Mark's we saw the infamous pigeons! This was where it got really fun :) I could post an entire album of pictures, but after fooling around there we headed to the bell tower.  From the top we could see all of Venice, and the surrounding islands. It was truly breathtaking.  After that we headed into Saint Mark's Basilica, where I saw the incredible The Pala d’Oro, a Byzantine altar screen of gold. It is covered in thousands of gems...literally. Just a few include 1,300 pearls, 300 emeralds, 300 sapphires, 400 garnets, 100 amethysts, plus rubies and topazes.  Looking at it you are greeted by a mosaic of Jesus surrounded by his apostles and numerous other biblical stories.  After lighting a candle (in Italy I had to break the one in every church rule or I would've run out of money..sorry Nan :) )  We saw the Doge's Palace, which housed the supreme ruler of Venice, and the Bridge of Sighs which got it’s name because it was the last view of the city prisoners had while they were being shipped off to jail. Then after walking around and doing some shopping we decided to take a Gondola Ride.  Although these are expensive little boat rides, it was one of my favorite moments of the entire trip.  Our gondolier was a born and raised Venetian and we even got to see his home! We road down the Grand Canal, as well as smaller other side canals which was where you got the real feel of Venice. We learned that most homes have two doors, one street side and one water way entrance, and that out of the 415 bridges only 4 run across the Grand Canal, so there is a 50cent shuttle that men have to row back and forth all day long to get people from one side to the other if they are not near a bridge! After eating amazing gelato and trying on so many Venetian Masks our faces had glitter stuck to them we headed off to the train station to go to Florence!XOXOX From Paris 

Swirl, Sniff and Sip- Wine tasting weekend in Bordeaux

We took off for girls weekend in Bordeaux a few weekends ago super excited to get to see this southern region of France, but also to go on a trip that didn't involve maps, strict itineraries and running around all day. We arrived in the city by noon and were instantly shocked but the classic buildings, river front walk way and beautiful ambiance. We found our hotel, Hotel Tourny which was run by the most adorable older French man. He gave us a huge key (like a real old fashioned key) and we wound up the spiral staircase to our room. After figuring out how to unlock the door we were greeted by such a typical French room. There was an old wooden armoire, desk, fireplace and even a balcony overlooking the street with big bay windows! Don't get the wrong idea it was defiantly not a castle (for example it's impossible to sit straight on the toilet because the shower door was too close,) but that gave the room character and for this region and this trip I wouldn't have wanted it any other way! We changed, dropped off our bags and headed out to explore. We were in a perfect location with everything in walking distance so we were able to meander around...no maps!! At least until we got lost. 

We saw the Grand Theater which has daily operas and leads into Rue Sainte Catherine, the longest pedestrian shopping street in Europe. Sadly it was Sunday so all the shops were closed, but the road was still cute and lead us into another square further down the town. We saw a Medieval church, a bell tower, as well as a government building called Hotel de Ville. Then we headed off towards the river and an "interesting street to walk on," as the man at the hotel called it. We stopped at a small super market and got bread, cheese and snacks to eat by the water and we were able to just sit for a long time in the gardens and talk. It was beautiful, peaceful and sunny! After that we headed down the road, watched a street performer, saw the famous Place de Bourges and sat for a coffee on the river. After coffee we explored a carnival, or "fun fair" as people called it and it was so interesting to see how something could be so similar yet so different from those in the US. The food, the rides and the people were pretty much the same.  We headed back to our hotel, changed and got dressed up for a nice girls dinner! 

Girls Dinner

We went to Antes de Peggy, an adorable little restaurant tucked in an ally. The ambiance was great, you felt like you were in a fall garden. We got some Bordeaux wine, and I had an amazing pork with mushrooms and grapes plate, and finally a chocolate caramel tiramisu on a chocolate macaroon. We left feeling full and happy only to find an awesome English bar right around the corner. There was trivia going on so we stepped into see what the commotion was about, and it was such a cool theme night! Students got really into the game because the winner got a minute behind the bar to make as many drinks as he wanted. After that we headed back to sleep because we had a long 8 hour tour the next day! 

Chanel's Chateau

Our wine tour turned out to be just the four of us, so we met Boris our guide and headed off to the right bank of Bordeaux towards Saint Emillion our first village. Here we were given a great overview of the different regions of France and the types of wines they specialize in, and then the rules within the region of Bordeaux to produce wine.  In 1855 a classification was devised to allow wineries to create a sort of "hierarchy" and to encourage competition and high quality. Around 450million bottles are produced in Bordeaux on a good year, or "vintage" as we learned it was called.  We drove past some famous Chateaus, one being Chanel's Chateau and came to our first stop, Chateau Soutard. This is a large and gorgeous chateau that is run by a large French investment company.  We were given a tour of the facilities, and learned lots of fun facts like the process of wine barrel making is very important and the scents from the wood are released into the wine, and that the reason bottles lay on their sides is so the wine can stay in contact with the cork, (not sure why but apparently it's important.)  We headed into a beautiful tasting room and we were so excited to finally get a chance to try this wine we had been learning about. At the chateau 2 other couples had joined for the tour, and it wasn't until they were all holding their glasses and doing this odd swishing and spitting thing with the wine we realized we had a LONGGG way to go with our tasting skills. Needless to say we sipped it quietly in the corner, but let me tell you it was good! Boris came to pick us up and the four of us headed off to the village of Saint-Emilion for lunch and free time.

The village is a World Heritage sight, and after hiking to the observation deck it is clear why! The cobblestone streets lead to many wine shops, the best macaroons I've ever had, and a great little restaurant where we had lunch. After lunch we headed off to a wine store where James, our guide was able to walk us through the process of wine tasting.  He started with the basics, and now we understand the importance of letting the wine breathe, smelling for the aromas and flavors, and the process of deciding if the tannins in the wine are too round or harsh for your pallet. (Sounds pretty official huh? ;) ) Although I would have loved to buy the Chanel wine, I had to settle for something a little more in my price range, and off we were again with Boris to the last chateau of the trip. 

Saint Emillion

The final chateau was by far the most amazing part of the day. We were greeted by the owner who took us to see the family run chateau which is the largest chateau in the Pomerol region. This was definitely what my idea of a local French winery would look like, with a few workers and large fields.  The air was a little crisp, and the leaves had begun to change which added to the fall feeling.  The owner was surprised to see the tour consisted of American girls in their 20's, but we showed him how much fun we could be, and a few glasses of wine later we were all laughing. By far this was the best wine I have EVER tasted, and he invited us all back to take wedding pictures at his home in the future :) Our day sadly coming to a close we got back into the car with Boris to go back to Bordeaux and take the train home. It was truly one of the most relaxing weekends of my semester, and a great way to decompress and see another region of France. Now if only I had an entire suitcase for the wine I wanted to bring home.

Until next time,
XOXOX From Paris

The Family comes to France

The week was filled with papers, presentations and the constant anticipation of break around the corner.  Friday afternoon

my family met me at school for lunch and an instant submersion into French culture, and then went to Versailles while I suffered through class until 6:30pm! We checked into our amazing hotel, and got a full night sleep before waking up early to head to Monet's gardens. 

Ever since I was a little girl I always was infatuated with Monet's work. Nanny would read me books on him, show me pictures and I remember always talking about wanting to go to Paris to see his water lilies and covered bridge paintings in real life. Now in one day I was going to see both his home and the gardens that inspired the works! We took a train out to Giverny, France and after witnessing yet again how the French like to take their time getting somewhere, we made it. We were pleasantly amazed to see flowers still in bloom and the gardens just as beautiful as we imagined them to be. We wandered the gardens and the finally there it was, the weeping willows, covered bridge and water lilies I so vividly remembered dreaming of as a little girl!! The area was so amazingly peaceful and I could imagine nothing better than spending afternoons in the Spring time here painting, I can see why Monet did. We also got to tour his home and see numerous works just hanging casually in his home. Nanny, you would've absolutely loved it! :) We then headed back to Paris to continue our Impressionist tour by going to the Musee d'Orsay. 

For those that don't know Paris splits its' museums by time period, starting with the Louvre housing the earliest pieces, moving into the Musee d'Orsay for more Impressionist and Post-Impressionist era works, and ending with the Pompidou museum for modern art. This was by far my favorite museum in France so far! I could see Van Gough's self portrait, Degas' ballerinas, Renoir's Afternoon in the Park, Cezannes's fruit, Manet country sides, and finally Claude Monet's work! There are no words to describe the pure talent behind these pieces, and being surrounded by so many great works at one time was truly breathtaking. 

We then made our way to Notre Dame where we went to Saturday evening mass. The church was gorgeous and the alter was truly a piece of art. There was just one problem...the entire mass was in French. Definitely an amazing experience, but slightly challenging. The evening ended with a SUPURB traditional French meal at an awesome restaurant near our hotel. We met my French friend thank goodness who could translate the menu, but we had escargot, duck, fresh fish, great wine and finally a speculoos cheesecake. 

Sunday morning we woke and headed to the stadium where Roland Garros Tennis tournament is held. It's a personal goal of mine to go to all 4 Grand Slams, and although the tournament wasn't in session it was a step. We took a private tour and got to see the press rooms, locker rooms, interview room, and finally the hallway leading up to Center Court which was signed by all the players! The clay on the court was so red! A fun fact we learned was if you fail to show up to an interview you are fined based on your rank in the world, so for example in 2001 when Andre Agassi was #1 in the world and he skipped an interview he was fined 25,000 EUROS! It was a super cool experience, and after that we headed back to downtown to enjoy the nice weather, take pictures near the Eiffel Tower, and head to the Louvre. Here we were able to see the infamous Mona Lisa, but also Napoleons Apartments from when the Louvre was a palace, Ver Meer's work, classical sculptors and some Medieval knights and swords for Drew! The night ended with a walk through Luxembourg Gardens, and a night trip to the top of the Montparnasse Tower where we saw the Eiffel Tower sparkle, (not really as cool as I expected but hey it can't all be great.) 

The following day was dedicated to visiting Normandy. We trained up to the north and went to a museum dedicated to the port at Arromanches. In school they always focus on the actual day itself, but fail to mention all the other events that happened in the 100 days after the invasion before Paris was regained. There was film put together by both the Allied countries and the Axis countries to educate people on the events of the war and it was the most moving piece I have ever seen, since it wasn't just from the American perspective. We then headed out on a 5 hour tour with Guy, our guide to the cemeteries and beaches. We saw a German cemetery, Port du Hoc where the rangers scaled the cliff and defeated German defenses, drove through hills the soldiers marched through towards Paris, saw lots of bunkers and guns, and finally went to Omaha beach. Standing on this beautiful beach looking out into the ocean where thousands of men died, and looking up at the cliffs where the Germans stood were extremely surreal. Sadly, because of the government shutdown we didn't get to see the American cemetery and to pay our respects to those who died. After a longgggg, cold, wet day it was great to return to a warm day in Paris.

As our last day in Paris we woke up had a nice Parisian breakfast and headed off to Marais to walk around and enjoy what I consider to be one of the most beautiful places in Paris. We shopped a little, got some traditional French pastries and headed back to my hotel to show the family my new home. This concluded the speed tour of Paris and we hopped onto the train to Belgium for the second leg of our European adventure. Overall it was awesome to be able to show my family where I've been living these past few weeks! Now onto waffles and Belgium beer! 

Recap: 

5 People 

1 Country

5 Days 

4 Cities 

And too many museums to count

XOXO from Paris 

Marist Takes Munich

This weekend was my first trip outside of France, which I was anxiously awaiting! The best part was I got to meet up with lots of my friends from Marist who are all studying abroad! I took 2 trains over around 6 hours to get to Munich by about 2:00 on Friday afternoon. I really enjoyed taking the train because it gave me an opportunity to see the German countryside, which looked exactly like I had imagined it would. There were tall traditional churches in the center of the towns with lots of small triangle roofed homes and large farms on the outskirts. When I got to Munich my hostel was 3 minutes away from the train station, and I passed numerous stands selling dirndls and lederhosens, which if you don't know are the traditional German Oktoberfest outfits. At that point I thought "No way will I ever wear that," but oh how I was wrong. Luckily, I bumped into some of my friends and we made our way over to the fair grounds. Now I had always imagined it would be big tents and lots of people drinking beer, never in a million years did I imagine it would be like this. The tents were not traditional tents, but large ornate buildings they put up every year with different themes, beer and music. There are tons of carnival rides and more food than you can imagine. We walked into four or five tents, but so late in the day it's impossible to get a seat unless you have a reservation. We all got our first German pretzels and wandered around until we found a smaller beer garden to get our first beer! Over 6 million liters of Munich brewed beer are served each year! I'm not an avid beer drinker back home, but I do have to say it was really good, especially the lemonade beer we found on Saturday. I tried a German Schwenkbraten (steak onion and ketchup sandwich) and a chocolate covered banana on a stick. That night we went back to meet up with all our other friends and head out to dinner. We walked to Marienplatz Square, a 12th century plaza in Old Town Munich.  I was astonished by the beauty of the buildings, especially the church. The clock sings and dances here during the day. We found a traditional German restaurant, and I had beef soup with vegetables and dumplings and a traditional Bavarian cream dessert Not really sure what it was, but I think it was strawberry yogurt, Bavarian cream with german chocolate ice cream and some sort of berry. SO yummy! Then we all got sucked into buying dirndls, which even though they were expensive added to the whole experience.  I now have my Halloween costume for the next 5 years!  We crashed early because Saturday we had to be up and at the tents by 7am to make sure we got seats.

Bright and early we all headed over to the fair grounds and when the tents opened at 9 it was a rush worse than Black Friday shopping to get seats. German police are quite intimidating, and there was a lot of shoving whistle blowing and yelling but we managed to get seats inside the biggest tent for all of us. In Germany there's no such thing as too early to drink so we all got served our first stein by 9:30 am!!! Culture shock! The people around us were great lots of chanting and singing and dancing on the benches (but not the tables or you get kicked out we learned.) What we didn't realize was we had sat in a lunch area so by 12 we were being kicked out!! We walked around went to another beer garden and then in the afternoon when they switch over the tents went back into HB. We all had an amazing time met some great people, got to try a rotisserie chicken, dance on some more benches and just enjoy the whole atmosphere. The entire day was nothing like I ever expected, it was so funny to see the wide range of ages at the festival from 8 to 70 and everyone was just having a great time. We headed back to the hostel after a long 14 hours at the fair and spent the night catching up with everyone at the hostel bar. I have to say for such a crazy festival I was really really impressed with how clean Oktoberfest was as well as the hostel and Munich in general.

Sunday we all dragged ourselves out of bed to head to the Dachau Concentration Camp, which was an incredibly touching experience. There is nothing that can prepare you for standing in a place that upon liberation by the Allied troops held over 32,000 Jews.  It was an extremely moving experience, and one that I am really glad to have had time to see while in Germany. Then we headed back to Munich and grabbed one last meal before heading home.

Overall reacap of the weekend, I ate drank and laughed a LOT.

Food I ate in Munich-
Bratwurst
Spatzel (thick gnocchi like noodle with cheese and crispy onions)
Schwenkbraten
Chocolate Covered Banana
Chocolate Covered Hot Pepper
Gingerbread Heart Cookie (big thing to wear around your neck)
Bavarian Cream Dessert
Beef Soup
Pretzels
Full Chicken
German Potato Salad

Drinks I had in Germany-
Oktoberest Brew Beer
Lemonade Beer
Jaeger
and a Pumpkin Spice Latte...(a little bit of home never hurt anyone)

Bottom line is good food, great friends, and good beer were recipe for one weekend I know I will never forget!


XOXOX From Paris

The Magnificant Mont Saint-Michel!

And the traveling has begun! A week ago Monday we were lucky enough to have the day off from class so we took advantage of it to book a trip to the amazing island of Mont Saint-Michel. This was by far one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen in my entire life. So many people said this was a must see while in France, so we sat down and tried to make it happen! After some scheduling setbacks we finally were able to figure out a way to make it work for today, so at 6am we departed the hotel for the train station. (Needless to say I was not a happy camper, and when the man at the front desk told me breakfast wasn't open until 7 and scolded me for taking a croissant he got to experience the wrath of early AM Courtney.). We got to the Montparnasse Train Station, which was surprisingly easy, very clean AND they had fresh smoothies so I knew the day was off to a good start. We boarded the train and it was as we left Paris and started passing through the small towns of France it hit me I'm in France. This week has been the week of "wow I'm  really in Paris" moments, and this was just as impressive. The old fashion little farm towns are honestly straight out of a movie, and I can't help but wonder what life in a small French town really is like. We got to Rennes, the last stop of the train and took a bus to Mont Saint-Michel. We learned a few life lessons about busses In France. 1) You do not eat or drink on the bus. 2) You have a seatbelt that needs to be fastened. 3) Bus drivers will roll down their windows and yell to passing bus drivers a "Bonjour! Ça va?" And then the most down to earth lesson of them all...4) If someone isn't feeling well the bus will pull over for them and wait until they are ready to get back on. As someone whose had her fair share of carsick experiences I was shocked at this common courtesy that would never occur in America.

We got to the Mont and had to take one more shuttle to the castle. The rain was coming down, and we were a little bummed, but as soon as we got off the bus the sky cleared and blue sky started peeking through the clouds! The sight was breathtaking, here in the middle of the water was an Abbey built in 708! We HIKED and I mean hiked up to the entrance of the Abbey and I have to say I was thoroughly impressed by the number of elderly people who were climbing right alongside us. We got our audio guides and set off! The Abbey was built by Aubert, Bishop of Avranches in honor of the Archangel. The idea came to him in a dream and it was set in motion. The Benedictines came and settled into the Abbey in the 10th Century and helped turn it into what it is today. The structure continued expanding, and even served as a stronghold during the Hundred Years War.  Next the abbey moved into the prison phase, and starting during The Revolution until 1863 it was actually used as a prison! Needless to say the history was almost as incredible as the architecture and the view which we were lucky enough to see before the rain! After the tour of the abbey we went looking for a place to have an omelette. The omelette was created by Madame Poulard on this island to feed the large number of Christian pilgrims that ended up at her inn. We went to Madame Poulard's cafe and I was able to try the tradional dish. I was warned by our waiter it would be a little strange, and he was right. Fish soup, potatoes with mushrooms and onions and then this whipped almost so airy it was nonexistent egg. I also tried raspberry cider, another local treat and I have to say that was the best part of the meal. I can say I miss my bacon and egg omelette back home, but hey it's all part of the experience! We explored other shops on the island, before heading back to catch our bus. My friends and I have adopted the saying, "nothing's easy in France," and this was one of those moments! The last shuttle off the island to the train station was overbooked and the driver didn't speak one word of English! She just kept saying "no panic no panic," which we clearly were and then Patrick came to save the day! They brought in another coach bus just for us which certainly provided the laugh of the afternoon. 

Exhausted and finally back to the hotel I was uploading pictures when I realized how truly breathtaking this little island gem was. It's not a place you would make it to if you only had a few days vacation in Paris and was one of the little treasures I will be able to see since I am here so long! 

Until nextime,

XOXOX 

A New Spin on Syllabus Week!

Time has flown this past week, but at the same time I struggle to remember what I did on Monday!  I cannot believe the number of things we have managed to see and do on top of going to the first week of classes! Definitely not like syllabus week in America!  First off, our professors are incredible people. Every single day I left class in complete shock at the things they have managed to accomplish and the lessons they are going to be able to bestow on us. Our Product Development class is taught by two extremely funny, very passionate men who have not only created their own men's high end lingerie line, but also help to create textile trends for Texworld.  We have a trend forecasting professor who runs his own business, a Visual Merchandising woman who has not only created her own company, but also worked for Gucci, The Monet- Hennessy Louis-Vitton Group, and Hermes, as well as a French History of Costume professor who is requiring us to go to so many exhibits around Paris and explore.  It was definitely a shock to have homework again, and with this beautiful city out my window it's going to be a challenge to sit inside and do research and reports, but so far a lot of assignments seem like they will involve going out and studying trends, people, stores and visiting exhibits so that's great news! 

Luxembourg Gardens

One day after class we ventured off to the Latin Quarter of Paris which is on the other side of the Seine.  This area was by far my favorite part of Paris so far, I would do anything to spend afternoons in the park doing homework by the fountains! There are dangerously cute shops, and then the Luxembourg Gardens! The gardens are breath taking, with flowers, fountains, sail boats kids can rent and push around the water, playgrounds, tennis courts, and even palm trees!! We met an artist, Henry who was sketching the most amazing little picture of the palace by the water. He turned out to be a French student who was dying to go study in New York. Funny how that works, people from Paris die to travel to NY and people from NY die to travel to Paris. We stopped to get dinner before returning home, and I treated myself to a nice BIG warm meal.  French onion soup, bread, and beef bourguignon with pasta which amazing!!! Not as good as Nanny's Christmas dinner, but for someone who has been eating lots of to go sandwiches and salads it hit the spot. 

The other day we planned to sit and eat lunch down by the Seine, but when the weather got cloudy we decided to explore some thrift shops near us and learned a very valuable lesson about the metro line we live on...don't head East.  After stepping off the Metro and realizing we weren't in Kansas anymore we decided to head down to the Islands in between the left and right banks and check out Notre Dame. The sun came out and we made our way over the Seine. The bells were chiming as we stood outside the Cathedral, and it was amazing to think how old the building really was. 

I plan on coming back someday soon to tour the inside, but we took a seat in the gardens near it and people watched for a while.  We even saw two brides! Then we carried on towards The Lock Bridge.  For those who don't know, this is a bridge where couples come and place a lock to represent their unbreakable love for each other, then throw the key into the water.  For a hopeless romantic like myself this was so cool to see, and definitely something to add to my bucket list! We then walked to the smaller Ile St. Louis which was so quaint and just very "Parisian."  The stores are super cute, and we got sandwiches and sat on the river looking at Notre Dame and watching boats go by. There is honestly one ice cream shop every three stores here, so naturally we got ice cream and walked around a little more. I have my eye on a plum suede jacket in one store here, so it's safe to say I will be returning soon :) XOXO from Paris

View of Notre Dame from  Ile Saint Louis