I can't believe I have ridden my last train in Europe for who knows how long; that makes me very sad! My last free weekend was spent in Muinch, Germany and I loved it. Hands down the Germans have had the friendliest culture, I felt right at home. I also have to say that the Germans were the best looking people, or I guess I could say the least "European". We arrived in Munich around 11:00am on Friday and had an adventure finidng our hotel. There was a group of about 8 of us and we had to get from the train station, to the subway, to our hotel. Eventually, we found it and it was well worth the trek. I was surprised to find a very nice hotel with down comforters, free breakfast and wonderful service for the small price we paid. Once we found our hotel we realized how hungry we were from all the traveling, so we immediately found a local BierGarten and ate some delicious sausage as you can see in the picture. Delicious! The next part of the day we spent on a bike tour with a company called Mike's Bikes and they were nothing compared to Fat Tire Bike Tours (who I went with in Paris). Even though their service was not as great, I still enjoyed seeing Munich. My favorite part was the English Gardens; this park is twice the size of Central Park and even has a nudist meadow. Along the tour we also learned a lot about the Bavarian region and Hitler's regime. At the end of the Bike Tour we stopped at the Chinese BierGarten and hung out; I have to say that I don't think that was the best choice for some people considering they serve liter beers. We had to make a few stops on the way home to help some people get back on their bikes...whoops. After the Bike Tour we found a great place for dinner where I ordered a not so great meal. Do not ever order a sausage salad here, for a mental picture imagine a bowl of cold, coin-sliced Spam. Blah! Luckily, everyone was kind enough to share their meals with me, so I got the try a wide variety of German dishes.
My Saturday started around 9:00am and I was thankful because that is the latest I have slept in about 3 weeks! Jen and I decided to visit Neuschwanstein Castle for the day while everyone else went on a walking tour of Munich. Little did we know this would be an all day trip, we had a 2 hour train ride to a picturesque mountain town called Fussen and 2 more bus rides to make it up to the castle. The train ride went by relatively fast though because we met someone from UT and had a lot to talk about. Finally, we made it up to the castle and the views were well worth the all day trek. For the first stop we went on Mary's Bridge where you can see the whole castle in the distance and the magnicient views. Then we walked around the castle and took in some more of the fantastic views. I think part of the mountains we were looking at are the Swiss Alps and I wish the pictures could have caputred the perfect blue color of the surrounding lakes. This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited, I would go back in a heartbeat and be more prepared for hiking, jeans and flats were not the best choice for this day. Around 5:00pm or so we made our way back to the train station to catch the train back to Munich and little did we know that we were about to miss the last one. Fortunately, we made it on the train just in time and did not end up stranded in the little mountain town. On the train ride home we sat by two girls from San Diego State. Meeting people from all over the world has been one of the best parts of my study abroad. Everyone has something different to offer and a new story to tell...I love it! When we returned to Munich, we ran into our newly found UT friends and invited them to hang out with our A&M group for the night because our group had decided to go on a Pub Crawl. The Pub Crawl was definitely not my first choice of how to spend the evening, but it ended up being a blast! We got to venture around Munich and embrace their wonderful techno tunes, it was interesting to create dance moves for this music...but we made it work hahah. And to top off the night, I started talking to one of the UT guys and found out he is buddy, buddy with all of the Bunker Hill Bunch; what a small world!
Sunday was a very somber day since we decided to visit Dachau, the concentration camp. I am not sure that this was the best choice for me, but I learned a lot. We had a guided tour and saw all of the camp from the barricks to the newly built monuments. The climax of the trip was when we went to visit the gas chamber and crematorium and I lost it and could not even walk through the building; this area reeks of death and drenched me in an overwhelming feeling of sorrow. During the whole tour I wondered at how any human could committ such heinous acts. The part I enjoyed the most was the final monument we saw and it said "Never Again" in 5 or 6 different languages, it was very powerful. Then we headed back to the hotel grabbed our belongings and got onto the train back to Strasbourg. But before we got on the train, I had one last sausage sandwhich. Yum!
I think I needed one more day in Munich to fully experience the city. I wanted to take a relaxing day, have a picnic in the English Gardens and hang out at the BierGartens. I also would have loved to meet more of the German people, especially the ones who still dress in the traditional lederhosen. Only a few more days and I will be home...yay for some sunshine and lake time!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Munich Pics
Gotta Love that German Sausage!
The world's second largest BierGarten...it can fit over 8,000 people
Cinderella's castle...look familiar?
The view from a bridge by the Neuschwanstein Castle
A typical German hat....Gig'emMonday, June 16, 2008
Roma Pictures
On the Spanish Steps...a lot of the group
The infamous Gelato
St. Peter's Basillica, the morning light added to the experience
A coin for the Trevi
The Colosseum, almost as big as Kyle Field hahaWhen in Rome...
Roma! What an experience! It has been another successful weekend in my book of trips. Rome was everything I hoped for (Gelato, Sundresses and Leather) and more. We left Strasbourg around 645am on Thursday to start our day of train rides and arrived in Italy around 6:30pm. (On a side note, I have to say that America is at a great loss for not having trains as a means of public transportation. They are perfect, minus some delays, but I can't even express how easy they are to travel on, it's great!) Anways, we made it to Roma and met up with our friends at Hotel Cervia. This place was a great deal and perfect for us, we had about 15 people and we were all well accomodated; it's not somewhere to brag about, but it was clean and had everything we needed. When we arrived Anna and I found all of our roomates napping from a day in Rome and we soon came to find out that naps are necessary, When in Rome. Thursday night we went to dinner near the Spanish Steps and I am sad to say the food quality was disappointing. I was shocked to find that in Italy not every restaurant is delicious "Italian" quality food. Luckily, the night got better after we left dinner and decided to visit the Spanish Steps. At the Steps we found a ton of people just hanging out and enjoying the night, so we decided to join them, it was a blast. Eventually, I decided that When In Rome, I had to eat some "G" aka gelato and did I ever find a gelato place. Two other girls and I gave into our craving and found this place and little did we know that we would be receiving an insane amount of G decorated and almost impossible to eat, I loved it! (See Picture)
Friday morning started bright and early with a trip to the Vatican. All of us were in agreement that losing a couple hours of sleep was worth missing tremendous lines, so we left around 715am, ah! St. Peter's Basillica was breath-taking...I still cannot comprehend how people managed to build these things without the technology we have today. I also think that the ornate decorations and pain-staking attention to detail reflect how devoted all of these people were to God and the pride they took in their religion. While we were walking around St. Peter's we heard George Bush was there and waited around to see him, but they ended up closing St. Peter's so he could have a private tour (we saw his motorcade 3 times, they were driving very fast). After St. Peter's we went to see the Sistine Chapel...I think my heart stopped when we walked into the chapel. It's a masterpiece and being in the presence of such a famous painting was quiet an experience. By this time we were starving and decided to grab a bite to eat before we ventured around the town. Once again, I was disappointed by Italian Pizza and fell into my first obvious toursit trap. The trick is that they will tell you one price and somehow it becomes a lot more on your reciept...after this experience we never paid a check without checking it and sadly, we found that it was a common occurence. Moving on...a group of about four of us broke off from the big group and found a street market. Then we stopped by the Pantheon, once again AMAZING, the Trevi Fountain, one of my favorite places and other historical sights. By the time we had visited all of these place, we were exhausted and headed back to the hotel for a nap. We slept until dinner time and our group rejoined and we went to dinner at a true Italian restaurant called Tre Scalini. It is in a typical Italian square and has the over-the-top friendly service. This was definitely the best meal I had, my lasagna melted in my mouth and while we were enjoying dinner outside under umbrellas, we could hear the fountains and then an Italian singer just topped of the perfect ambiance. Then to top off dinner we all ordered a very chocolate dessert (thanks to some of my friends recommendations).
Saturday morning it was a lot harder to wake up because Friday was so exhausting. Rome does an absolute beating on your feet with the cobblestone roads and lack of sufficent public transportation. Around 800am we made it to the Colosseum, beat all of the lines once again and took our own tour. This place is grand and when you walk around you call almost hear the crowds cheering. With our ticket we also had the chance to walk around more Roman ruins such as Palatine Hill (where the aristocrats lived) and the Forum. In all honesty, it was fascinating to see these places, but there is not much left and it is hard to picture what it use to be. After walking around the ruins for a while we worked up an appetite and ate pizza across from our hotel, this stuff was good. Now for the most exciting part of the day, Shopping! hahah. Just kidding, but it did top off my Roma experience to find a leather shop. I managed to find a few things to help me remeber my trip. :) Now let me tell you, it was not so fun to walk around the rest of the day with my shopping bags. To conclude this afternoon before our journey back to the hotel, we stopped and bought G to eat while we sat by the Trevi Fountain...fabulous! This night we suffered another not so great meal, but had fun exploring the area around out hotel.
Overall, Rome was a neat experience and an opportunity to see so much history. It is hard to believe that this place was once the center of the world, overflowing with wealth and power and now souly functions as a tourist town. I can easily say that I am glad to be back in Strasbourg and will be taking some time to catch up on my sleep. As each day closes, I realize that I have less and less time in Europe and that there is still so much more I want to see.....
Friday morning started bright and early with a trip to the Vatican. All of us were in agreement that losing a couple hours of sleep was worth missing tremendous lines, so we left around 715am, ah! St. Peter's Basillica was breath-taking...I still cannot comprehend how people managed to build these things without the technology we have today. I also think that the ornate decorations and pain-staking attention to detail reflect how devoted all of these people were to God and the pride they took in their religion. While we were walking around St. Peter's we heard George Bush was there and waited around to see him, but they ended up closing St. Peter's so he could have a private tour (we saw his motorcade 3 times, they were driving very fast). After St. Peter's we went to see the Sistine Chapel...I think my heart stopped when we walked into the chapel. It's a masterpiece and being in the presence of such a famous painting was quiet an experience. By this time we were starving and decided to grab a bite to eat before we ventured around the town. Once again, I was disappointed by Italian Pizza and fell into my first obvious toursit trap. The trick is that they will tell you one price and somehow it becomes a lot more on your reciept...after this experience we never paid a check without checking it and sadly, we found that it was a common occurence. Moving on...a group of about four of us broke off from the big group and found a street market. Then we stopped by the Pantheon, once again AMAZING, the Trevi Fountain, one of my favorite places and other historical sights. By the time we had visited all of these place, we were exhausted and headed back to the hotel for a nap. We slept until dinner time and our group rejoined and we went to dinner at a true Italian restaurant called Tre Scalini. It is in a typical Italian square and has the over-the-top friendly service. This was definitely the best meal I had, my lasagna melted in my mouth and while we were enjoying dinner outside under umbrellas, we could hear the fountains and then an Italian singer just topped of the perfect ambiance. Then to top off dinner we all ordered a very chocolate dessert (thanks to some of my friends recommendations).
Saturday morning it was a lot harder to wake up because Friday was so exhausting. Rome does an absolute beating on your feet with the cobblestone roads and lack of sufficent public transportation. Around 800am we made it to the Colosseum, beat all of the lines once again and took our own tour. This place is grand and when you walk around you call almost hear the crowds cheering. With our ticket we also had the chance to walk around more Roman ruins such as Palatine Hill (where the aristocrats lived) and the Forum. In all honesty, it was fascinating to see these places, but there is not much left and it is hard to picture what it use to be. After walking around the ruins for a while we worked up an appetite and ate pizza across from our hotel, this stuff was good. Now for the most exciting part of the day, Shopping! hahah. Just kidding, but it did top off my Roma experience to find a leather shop. I managed to find a few things to help me remeber my trip. :) Now let me tell you, it was not so fun to walk around the rest of the day with my shopping bags. To conclude this afternoon before our journey back to the hotel, we stopped and bought G to eat while we sat by the Trevi Fountain...fabulous! This night we suffered another not so great meal, but had fun exploring the area around out hotel.
Overall, Rome was a neat experience and an opportunity to see so much history. It is hard to believe that this place was once the center of the world, overflowing with wealth and power and now souly functions as a tourist town. I can easily say that I am glad to be back in Strasbourg and will be taking some time to catch up on my sleep. As each day closes, I realize that I have less and less time in Europe and that there is still so much more I want to see.....
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Ah, Paris!
We have finally returned from class trip to Brussels and Paris...
After 20 hours of bus riding, a handful of gas station stops and delicious CocaCola lights we have arrived back in Strasbourg. The trip started early Thursday morning when we left on a five hour bus ride to Brussels, Belgium. When we arrived in Brussels, it was cold, rainy and wet; fortunately, it was well worth enduring the nasty weather. The first stop in Brussels was at an infamous Belgian waffle stand, all I have to say is Belgian Waffle, a LOT of chocolate and perfect bananas all mixed together. Yum! Of course after all of the sugar I had to find something salty to eat and what better than French Fries (Belgium is where French Fries were started). The French Fries were pretty good, except for the fact that I spilled half of them and all of the ketchup all over my new shoes, luckily they're already red. :) These red Converse shoes have been my favorite purchase...definitely the most useful. Eventually, I felt full enough to return to the hotel and get ready for our visit to the European Commission. The Commission was very interesting, they have over 77 buildings in Brussels and thousands of employees. We had two presentations and the better of the two was on the "Trans-Atlantic Relationship" between the US and Europe. To wrap up the busy day, a few of us decided to venture down a street of restaurants and find somewhere to relax and taste more Belgian cuisine. We were all pleasantly surprised when we found ourselves being recruited into restaurants; apparently, they all had the best deal etc. At the end of the street we decided to sit down and received our promised free drink and ate a great dinner, I even tried a mussel, interesting. Since the rain had cleared up after dinner, we had the opportunity to look around the square and enjoy some live music at a local tavern. All in all, Brussels was a nice expereince and I would love to spend more time in the city.
Ah, Paris! I am in love with this city. Everything you hear about Paris, at least all of the good things are TRUE. I am truly captivated by this city; I love the paradox of the old and the new all mixed together. We arrived in Paris around 2pm on Friday, grabbed some lunch and unfortunately jumped on another bus for a bus tour. I just about died, I was so ready to walk around the city and experience the sights, not just look at them through a window. I guess the best part of this tour was that our tour bus was pulled over for running a red light...oops! After the bus tour, we found ourselves at the bottome of the Eiffel Tower. I could not believe I was actually looking at it, IN PERSON. We rode up to the second floor, took in the expansive area Paris covers and explored the lawn surrounding the tower. To end the day of touring, we got a large boat and cruised the river and listed to some interesting history in French; therefore, I learned nothing. But I did find myself sitting next to the cutest little French boy, he was probably in Elementary school and kept trying to speak French to me. I just kept smiling, haha. This night Anna and I were feeling a little under the weather because of the cold weather our allergies have been miserable, so we hit the sack around midnight. I am so glad that I got some sleep because Saturday was AMAZING. We started the morning with our typical French breakfast, a crossiant (or two) and left for the Palace of Versailles. (sp?) This was the "country" home of King Louis XIV, by home I mean opulent palace. This place was the epitome of French Royalty, it is decked out in huge murals, impressively high ceilings and over the top furnishings, but the part I enjoyed the most were the gardens. Acres and acres and acres of ornately designed gardens, fountains, statues and fountains surround the palace. Seriously, I think I could spend an entire day in this place. The next part of the day was started at the Louvre right after we grabbed a traditional French crepe from a street vendor. The Louvre was magnificent and completely overwhemling. We stopped at all the touristy spots such as the Mona Lisa, Venus and Milo, Winged Victory and some others. Once again, I could spend an entire day and then some in this place.
Now, for one of my favorite parts of my entire trip to Europe, Fat Tire Bike Tour. It was complete fate that I ended up going on this tour because I forgot it was in Paris. Friday, I ran into some Aggies I knew underneath the Eiffel tower who were working for FTBT and they told me I should definitely go on a tour. I decided I needed to do some recruiting from my group and told them I would be back Satruday night. Thankfully, I foud some people who were interested. So, after our already long day on Saturday we found ourselves racing along the subway trying to make it to the 7pm tour. We almost didn't make it and I owe it all to our sprint from the subway to the base of the Eiffle Tower....this was not small feat. Anyways, sweating, dishelved and outbreath my group shows up to the meeting spot and who do I see other than more Pi Phi's, Paige and Morgan! I can't believe that we were both in Paris at the same time and decided to go on the same tour, I was so excited to see more familiar faces. Long story short, the tour started at FTBT's office aka an area with about 100 bikes and lasted for 4 hours and ended with wine on a night boat cruise. As I said earlier, this tour was one of my favorite times on my entire trip. We saw so many areas of Paris at dusk, stunning, ate the city's best ice cream (no joke) and had a blast! To end an already perfect day, we decided to get yet another crepe from a late night stand and experience the 1am Eiffel Tower show. At 1am they turn off the back lights of the tower and turn on only the sparkle lights, it looks as if they are dancing up and down the tower. This morning we closed our time in Paris with mass at Notre Dame. I loved the church and was very intrigued by the service, since I have never been to a catholic service. Most of the sermon was in French, but it was worth it to hear the accousitics and look at the stainglass windows.
To be honest, I am exhausted from typing and sad to say this is only a small taste of my trip. Needless to say, I will be back in Paris someday because it is a truly life-changing experience. I hope all of you are doing well and keeping everything together for me back in the States.
p.s.
I don't think the French know what toilet seat is....never thought of these as a luxury.
Dairy, Dairy and more Dairy; who doesn't love a diet of cheese and ice cream :)
After 20 hours of bus riding, a handful of gas station stops and delicious CocaCola lights we have arrived back in Strasbourg. The trip started early Thursday morning when we left on a five hour bus ride to Brussels, Belgium. When we arrived in Brussels, it was cold, rainy and wet; fortunately, it was well worth enduring the nasty weather. The first stop in Brussels was at an infamous Belgian waffle stand, all I have to say is Belgian Waffle, a LOT of chocolate and perfect bananas all mixed together. Yum! Of course after all of the sugar I had to find something salty to eat and what better than French Fries (Belgium is where French Fries were started). The French Fries were pretty good, except for the fact that I spilled half of them and all of the ketchup all over my new shoes, luckily they're already red. :) These red Converse shoes have been my favorite purchase...definitely the most useful. Eventually, I felt full enough to return to the hotel and get ready for our visit to the European Commission. The Commission was very interesting, they have over 77 buildings in Brussels and thousands of employees. We had two presentations and the better of the two was on the "Trans-Atlantic Relationship" between the US and Europe. To wrap up the busy day, a few of us decided to venture down a street of restaurants and find somewhere to relax and taste more Belgian cuisine. We were all pleasantly surprised when we found ourselves being recruited into restaurants; apparently, they all had the best deal etc. At the end of the street we decided to sit down and received our promised free drink and ate a great dinner, I even tried a mussel, interesting. Since the rain had cleared up after dinner, we had the opportunity to look around the square and enjoy some live music at a local tavern. All in all, Brussels was a nice expereince and I would love to spend more time in the city.
Ah, Paris! I am in love with this city. Everything you hear about Paris, at least all of the good things are TRUE. I am truly captivated by this city; I love the paradox of the old and the new all mixed together. We arrived in Paris around 2pm on Friday, grabbed some lunch and unfortunately jumped on another bus for a bus tour. I just about died, I was so ready to walk around the city and experience the sights, not just look at them through a window. I guess the best part of this tour was that our tour bus was pulled over for running a red light...oops! After the bus tour, we found ourselves at the bottome of the Eiffel Tower. I could not believe I was actually looking at it, IN PERSON. We rode up to the second floor, took in the expansive area Paris covers and explored the lawn surrounding the tower. To end the day of touring, we got a large boat and cruised the river and listed to some interesting history in French; therefore, I learned nothing. But I did find myself sitting next to the cutest little French boy, he was probably in Elementary school and kept trying to speak French to me. I just kept smiling, haha. This night Anna and I were feeling a little under the weather because of the cold weather our allergies have been miserable, so we hit the sack around midnight. I am so glad that I got some sleep because Saturday was AMAZING. We started the morning with our typical French breakfast, a crossiant (or two) and left for the Palace of Versailles. (sp?) This was the "country" home of King Louis XIV, by home I mean opulent palace. This place was the epitome of French Royalty, it is decked out in huge murals, impressively high ceilings and over the top furnishings, but the part I enjoyed the most were the gardens. Acres and acres and acres of ornately designed gardens, fountains, statues and fountains surround the palace. Seriously, I think I could spend an entire day in this place. The next part of the day was started at the Louvre right after we grabbed a traditional French crepe from a street vendor. The Louvre was magnificent and completely overwhemling. We stopped at all the touristy spots such as the Mona Lisa, Venus and Milo, Winged Victory and some others. Once again, I could spend an entire day and then some in this place.
Now, for one of my favorite parts of my entire trip to Europe, Fat Tire Bike Tour. It was complete fate that I ended up going on this tour because I forgot it was in Paris. Friday, I ran into some Aggies I knew underneath the Eiffel tower who were working for FTBT and they told me I should definitely go on a tour. I decided I needed to do some recruiting from my group and told them I would be back Satruday night. Thankfully, I foud some people who were interested. So, after our already long day on Saturday we found ourselves racing along the subway trying to make it to the 7pm tour. We almost didn't make it and I owe it all to our sprint from the subway to the base of the Eiffle Tower....this was not small feat. Anyways, sweating, dishelved and outbreath my group shows up to the meeting spot and who do I see other than more Pi Phi's, Paige and Morgan! I can't believe that we were both in Paris at the same time and decided to go on the same tour, I was so excited to see more familiar faces. Long story short, the tour started at FTBT's office aka an area with about 100 bikes and lasted for 4 hours and ended with wine on a night boat cruise. As I said earlier, this tour was one of my favorite times on my entire trip. We saw so many areas of Paris at dusk, stunning, ate the city's best ice cream (no joke) and had a blast! To end an already perfect day, we decided to get yet another crepe from a late night stand and experience the 1am Eiffel Tower show. At 1am they turn off the back lights of the tower and turn on only the sparkle lights, it looks as if they are dancing up and down the tower. This morning we closed our time in Paris with mass at Notre Dame. I loved the church and was very intrigued by the service, since I have never been to a catholic service. Most of the sermon was in French, but it was worth it to hear the accousitics and look at the stainglass windows.
To be honest, I am exhausted from typing and sad to say this is only a small taste of my trip. Needless to say, I will be back in Paris someday because it is a truly life-changing experience. I hope all of you are doing well and keeping everything together for me back in the States.
p.s.
I don't think the French know what toilet seat is....never thought of these as a luxury.
Dairy, Dairy and more Dairy; who doesn't love a diet of cheese and ice cream :)
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Dinner for 15...
Howdy everyone! I guess it is nice to have some down time in Strasbourg. The past few days I have just been exploring the town after class and getting to know my way around. Class has been a little boring, so I have a hard time staying awake, but that's nothing a CocaCola Light cannot fix. Last night, we had a dinner party in our room, it was so fun. Even though our entire "Apartment" is about the size of my room at home, we managed to cook a meal for over 15 people. It was delicious, pasta, salad, fruit salad and of course bread and cheese. I have never seen such a large cheese selection at a grocery store in my life. I am partial to Munster cheese and I find it funny that something that smells so awful could taste so good. Along with our dinner last night we received a "warning" from that front desk that we needed to be quiet....really at 7:30pm? Honestly, I think that the people just like to pick on us and not just in the hotel. Our cultures could not be more different, Americans=social, friendly, energetic while the French= quiet, reserved, calm along with some other words. I wish I could demonstrate some of the looks people give us when we are traveling in the Tram or walking around the University. Fortunately, I have learned to not take it personally and just keep on being myself. After our dinner party last night since we were so "loud" we decided to find a park and play "Futbol" aka soccer. It was a blast. We found this tiny little court for about 20 of us and eventually became the spectacle of the park, what's new.
Tomorrow morning we (the whole group) are leaving for Brussles; I am very excited to eat a Belgian waffle, as well as try their chocolate and fries. Then Friday afternoon we will be getting on a bus to Paris. We will spend the rest of the weekend there and head back Sunday night. I wish we had more time in both places, but we have to squeeze in a visit to the European Council etc.
Salut!
Rachel
Tomorrow morning we (the whole group) are leaving for Brussles; I am very excited to eat a Belgian waffle, as well as try their chocolate and fries. Then Friday afternoon we will be getting on a bus to Paris. We will spend the rest of the weekend there and head back Sunday night. I wish we had more time in both places, but we have to squeeze in a visit to the European Council etc.
Salut!
Rachel
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Fabulous London!
Our perfectly located Bed and Breakfast...with a community Bathroom, interesting.
Trafalgar Square, my favorite place in London.
I think we saw Peter Pan here :)
Buckingham Palace....the Queen wasn't here
He didn't even move a muscle...Well, we are back from the wonderful city of London! It was such an incredible experience, especailly because of Chris and his fantastic tour guide skills. Our adventure to London started around 5:30am Friday morning when we went on our first train ride. The train we rode was called the TGV (tay-gee-v), it was just recently installed and decresed the ride time from 5 hours to 2 hours to get to Paris. During our layover in Paris we grabbed an official French breakfast and waited for the Eurostar to ride in the Chunnel. After a 2 hour ride on the Eurostar we finally found ourselves in LONDON! We stayed in a very quaint Bed and Breaskfast that was centrally located, which ended up being very conveient. Friday night we went to see a few night sights, such as Trafalgar Square and Picadilly Circus then we stopped by a lounge called Fudge in "Lester" square. It was a perfect introduction to the city, we got to see the wide variety of people and ride the Tube (subway) with some intersting characters.
All I have to say that is essentially we did London in a day on Saturday thanks to Chris...
Thursday, May 29, 2008
I wish I lived in a castle...
Where to begin...
Yesterday was a very busy day, we visted Mercedes-Benz in Rastatt, Germany and a Castle on the French and German border. Mercedes was interesting, we saw their very eco-friendly, efficient plant for the A and B class car. It is very popular in Europe because it is a small, non-gas guzzling vehicle. After our visit we went back to the hotel, put on walking shoes to go tour a castle. The castle is from the 12th century and was restored by William II when Germany took reign of the Alsace region. It was beautiful and full of history, but the best part was the view. When you were at the top of the castle you could look out and see for miles and miles and miles. Finally, our long day ended around 7pm and we returned to Strasbourg. Upon returning to Strasbourg, I decided to take a little "me" time and catch some fresh air in the local square. I felt just like a local, sitting near a fountatin people watching and just enjoying the evening. My time in the square was topped off when a man started playing the guitar and singing in French; I think this will become a part of my daily routine. Then to finish off an already fabulous day, a group of girls went to see Sex and the City (yes, it came out here first). Fortunately, we found a place where it was showing in English and to our surprise movie premiers here do not entail long lines and a giant crowds. The movie was great, I loved it!
Today was a much more relaxing day. We had our last introduction to French class and spent the rest of the day in our international classes. During the lunch break, I found a local bakery that makes a delicious "thon" tuna fish sandwhich. The lady there is so cute, she speaks a little bit of English and loves to practice which is very fortunate for me. After class, Anna and I stopped by the train station to make sure we had all of our tickets for our trip to London. Yay! We are leaving tomorrow morning at 6:45am. I look forward to another adventure to the UK!
Yesterday was a very busy day, we visted Mercedes-Benz in Rastatt, Germany and a Castle on the French and German border. Mercedes was interesting, we saw their very eco-friendly, efficient plant for the A and B class car. It is very popular in Europe because it is a small, non-gas guzzling vehicle. After our visit we went back to the hotel, put on walking shoes to go tour a castle. The castle is from the 12th century and was restored by William II when Germany took reign of the Alsace region. It was beautiful and full of history, but the best part was the view. When you were at the top of the castle you could look out and see for miles and miles and miles. Finally, our long day ended around 7pm and we returned to Strasbourg. Upon returning to Strasbourg, I decided to take a little "me" time and catch some fresh air in the local square. I felt just like a local, sitting near a fountatin people watching and just enjoying the evening. My time in the square was topped off when a man started playing the guitar and singing in French; I think this will become a part of my daily routine. Then to finish off an already fabulous day, a group of girls went to see Sex and the City (yes, it came out here first). Fortunately, we found a place where it was showing in English and to our surprise movie premiers here do not entail long lines and a giant crowds. The movie was great, I loved it!
Today was a much more relaxing day. We had our last introduction to French class and spent the rest of the day in our international classes. During the lunch break, I found a local bakery that makes a delicious "thon" tuna fish sandwhich. The lady there is so cute, she speaks a little bit of English and loves to practice which is very fortunate for me. After class, Anna and I stopped by the train station to make sure we had all of our tickets for our trip to London. Yay! We are leaving tomorrow morning at 6:45am. I look forward to another adventure to the UK!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
More Pictures....
Typical Window in Strasbourg....love it!
Scenery Pic
This is the square by our Hotel....AWESOME!
This is Restaurant we ate at the first night with the group.I didn't eat very much, it was interesting.
Monday, May 26, 2008
First Day of Class
I don't even know where to start talking about today and all of its adventures! This morning we had our first day of class at the University; we had to take a tram for about ten minutes and walk a couple of blocks. The University is very plain, but it is fun to see European students and lets just say they love to smoke. Our first class was at 8:00am, blah, and it was just an introduction to France. Honestly, I don't think I will ever be able to pick up on this language! Then we visited the Cafeteria, which I probably won't be visiting very often and saw our computer lab. I am so glad that I brought my laptop because the keyboards are arranged differntly than those in the US. After our brief tour, we started our International Finance Class and European Union Class. During our lunch break I decided to visit a sandwhich shop across the street and taste some French cuisine. I thought this would be an easy task, but quickly realized that the entire menu was in French and I am do not know any of the food terminology and both of the workers did not speak English. Eventually, the purchasing of my sandwhich ended with me pointing at what I wanted to put on my sandwhich. It was delicious! Both of my professors are brilliant and very well-informed of wordly issues and history. Finally when class ended at 3:30pm we were free to explore the city. Today the city truly came to life, apparently on Sundays the town shuts down and takes an important day of rest, so yesterday we felt like we were in a ghost town.
Anna and I decided that we had some importnat errands to run, such as visiting Zara (a clothing store) and the grocery. Unfortunately, Zara did not have anything that fit into our price range, so we decided to buy some ice cream and cruise the streets. When we had finished eating our delicious Alsace ice cream, we entered the grocery store "Simply." Can you say overwhelming?! There was absolutely nothing in English, so we looked for familar brands while we held our noses and passed the delictable meat sections...yuck. We decided we are very thankful for FDA standards. Then we met up with some other people on our study abroad at a quaint cafe on the street. I indulged in a delicious bowl of spaghetti and tasted other's pizza and pasta. I finally enjoyed a full meal!
Strasbourg is the perfect mixture of German and French culture; it's timeless builidings and tranquil atmosphere are enchanting and I will soon by addicted to the laid back European attitude. I look forward to tomorrow and getting to know more people in the city, as well as those on my trip. :)
Anna and I decided that we had some importnat errands to run, such as visiting Zara (a clothing store) and the grocery. Unfortunately, Zara did not have anything that fit into our price range, so we decided to buy some ice cream and cruise the streets. When we had finished eating our delicious Alsace ice cream, we entered the grocery store "Simply." Can you say overwhelming?! There was absolutely nothing in English, so we looked for familar brands while we held our noses and passed the delictable meat sections...yuck. We decided we are very thankful for FDA standards. Then we met up with some other people on our study abroad at a quaint cafe on the street. I indulged in a delicious bowl of spaghetti and tasted other's pizza and pasta. I finally enjoyed a full meal!
Strasbourg is the perfect mixture of German and French culture; it's timeless builidings and tranquil atmosphere are enchanting and I will soon by addicted to the laid back European attitude. I look forward to tomorrow and getting to know more people in the city, as well as those on my trip. :)
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Travel Day and Arrival
Yay! I am finally in Strasbourg! After a very long, long day of traveling through three countries we finally made it. During our travels, my favorite moment was when I woke up on the bus and was greeted by a glorious sunset as we crossed the epic Rhine River. Beautiful! We are staying in an Apart/Hotel; fortunately, it is very clean and has most of the ammenities we need. On the negative side, it is about as big as my bedroom and there are three of us, a "toilet" and a kitchen, with a minature fridge, stove and dishwasher.
Last night was our first outing on the town, we were on a quest for food after living off of plane snacks for a whole day. We found a small, local pub and quickly discovered the difficult language barrier. The staff ended up being very nice and helpful, contrary to popular belief, and I managed to order a delicious "jambon" and "formage" sandwhich aka ham and cheese. Today we are going to venture around Strasbourg on the Ill River and then on a foot tour. I am very excited to see the town in daylight and find my way around. Hopefully, I will have some pictures to put up after our excursion today. Miss you all very much!
Rachel
Last night was our first outing on the town, we were on a quest for food after living off of plane snacks for a whole day. We found a small, local pub and quickly discovered the difficult language barrier. The staff ended up being very nice and helpful, contrary to popular belief, and I managed to order a delicious "jambon" and "formage" sandwhich aka ham and cheese. Today we are going to venture around Strasbourg on the Ill River and then on a foot tour. I am very excited to see the town in daylight and find my way around. Hopefully, I will have some pictures to put up after our excursion today. Miss you all very much!
Rachel
Friday, May 16, 2008
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