Walking Across the Country

I walked across a country today. Granted, it was Monaco, so it's not a very big country, but still...how many people can say they walked across an entire country? Right now, I'm sitting in the courtyard at the Hotel Baccarat, the hostel I am staying in with about 8 other girls from IES for the weekend. We left Paris Gare de Lyon this morning at 8:05am (after thinking we were all going to miss the train cause we were all running so late) and arrived in Nice at about 1:30pm. Three other girls and I hopped on another train to Monte Carlo because we all really wanted to see Monaco (and it was only 5 euro for the 20-minute train ride).

Monaco was AMAZING! I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but it definitely surpassed my expectations. It's super hilly, which I didn't know before. We walked from Gare de Monaco to the Prince's Palace, walked through the Grande Appartements and Musee de Napoleon, browsed souvenir shops (they have a TON of Grand Prix stuff, even though that's already over for the year), and then walked all the way to the other side of the country to go to the Monte Carlo casino. We didn't end up gambling because there was a 10 euro cover to go in, but it was still cool to see. We ate dinner at a cafe on the main harbor in Monaco, looking out at all the yachts and everything. I spent too much money on souvenirs, but I figured this is probably the only chance I'll have in my life to come to Monaco, so why not?

We got back to Nice around 8pm (after a short train ride on a Harry Potter-like train with individual cabin/compartment things!) and walked down to the Promenade des Anglais. For those of you who don't know, that's a big, wide avenue that runs along the Mediterranean Sea! We walked down to the beach to feel the water. The water is very, very blue, but the beaches are all rocks, not sand! It's weird, but I am looking forward to a beach day tomorrow! Supposedly, topless sunbathing is the thing to do here, too...we'll see about that haha.

Tonight, we're all tired from all the travel and walking all day, so it's an early night...tomorrow, though, it's a beach day! I can't wait =) I LOVE being back around humidity, summer weather, and salty ocean air!

Riley =)

America Me Manque

Some things I (and other people sitting in the IES library with me) miss...
- Soft cookies
- Air conditioning
- Fresh milk
- People wearing deodorant
- Soft water
- General cleanliness
- No beggars on every street corner
- English
- Driving
- Coffee shops with more than just plain espresso
- TV and movies
- American food
- Clean sidewalks
- Smiling (and polite) people
- Cute boys
- Non-skinny jeans
- People with curves
- Fast food options beyond McDonald's
- Ball State and my people from there
- Non-smoking areas
- Things being open on Sundays
- Food prices
- Clothes dryers
- Thongs and bras
- Tide laundry detergent

Things From France That I Would Like to Take Home...
- Le M
- The convenience of the Metro
- Les Soldes
- Cheap but good wine
- Boulangeries
- Yogurt
- Cacao et Chocolat
- Muji
- Some of their fashion
- Picnics
- Gardens
- Orange Fanta (it's different here) and Orangina
- Bottled water (or beer) with value meals at fast food places
- French
- Macarons
- The Eiffel Tower (minus the creepers and the gypsies)
- Walking everywhere
- Rue Daguerre
- Awesome fresh, organic fruit everywhere

J'ai Mangé Beaucoup!

I thought I would take some time since I'm bored between classes to write about French food. I know I've mentioned it many times before, but now it gets a whole entry dedicated to it.

Today, my lunch was an apple and two waffles. Yes, that's right...two waffles at lunch. No, I wasn't doing the whole "breakfast for lunch" thing. Here, waffles are dessert, not part of breakfast. They have stands all over that sell crepes and waffles. I think they think of waffles as a cross between cake and a cookie...they sell them in variety packs in stores (dipped in chocolate, plain, etc.) or as desserts in restaurants smothered in whipped cream and powdered sugar. Maple syrup is pretty nonexistent here, though, so you never, ever see anyone eating a waffle the American way with butter and syrup. Also, the waffles are usually cold. It was weird eating a cold waffle at first, but now I'm kind of used to it.

Yogurt here is not sweetened. You can buy sweetened yogurt, but most people just buy "natural yogurt," which is just plain yogurt...no sugar or flavoring or anything. The first night my host family served it, my host mom asked if I wanted sugar or honey with my yogurt...she thought I didn't understand her French when I responded that I didn't know. I had to explain to her that we don't eat yogurt like that generally at home. But, now, I've started to love natural yogurt with cassonade (a very, very light brown sugar)...I actually had some with my breakfast this morning!

Coffee, as most people with their French stereotypes in their heads know, is sort of a big deal here. Espresso, especially...they really only drink espresso. However, it's virtually impossible to find a coffee shop other than Starbucks (and there are only like 8-10 Starbucks here...which isn't a lot considering Paris's size and how many we have at home). Most people just drink their espresso at home or after dinner with their dessert. They just drink a tiny, double-shot sized cup of straight espresso. They don't really do all of the fancy coffee drinks that we are obsessed with in the United States. You can usually find a cafe au lait somewhere, but that's about it. Even Starbucks does't even sell that many fancy drinks here...their menu board only lists cafe mochas and caramel macchiatos as the only two "fancy drink" options, and everything else is a variation of espresso (espresso with water, espresso with hot milk, espresso with regular milk, etc.).

French people put sauce on EVERYTHING! And I mean everything...French fries (and I'm not talking about ketchup...they have special "pommes frites sauce"), steak, vegetables, desserts... Seriously, I don't understand how everyone is so thin when they eat like that! Most of the sauces are just like butter sauces that don't even add much flavor. At a restaurant on our field trip to Giverny the other day, everything was drowning in this brown gravy-looking sauce...but it didn't seem to add any flavor at all to it. Every dessert is served with some sort of sauce...tart comes with coulis, ice cream with caramel or chocolate sauce, fresh fruit with yogurt as a sauce. It's funny when my host family asks me to choose the sauce at dinner, because I never have any idea what to choose. Their sauces are also nothing like our salad dressings or usual sauces at home, either.,,no Ranch dressing here (and no French dressing, either, interestingly enough).

Well, I think that's enough food observations for now. I'm sure I'll have more in the future! I'm just full of observations...what can I say?

Riley =)

It's HOT!

So, all of the sudden, it's in the 80s in Paris. Which is something I thought I wanted...but the fact that there is no air conditioning in Paris means that you are sweating and hot ALL the time when it's hot outside! Some of my friends and I are going to try to find a public pool somewhere so we can go swimming this week. We need to cool down!

Today, I went to the Pont de l'Alma tunnel, better known as the tunnel where Princess Diana was killed. It was very emotional. Memories of watching Princess Diana on TV are some of my earliest memories, and I always loved reading about her in my mom's magazines or seeing her on TV. I remember being glued to the TV the day of her funeral. It's incredible how lasting her impact on the world is, though...even today, so many years after she died, people write messages all over the walls of the tunnel about how she will never be forgotten. There are messages in dozens of languages from all over the world. It's incredible to see the impact one person can have.

Since it's Sunday, everything is closed here, so I went grocery shopping yesterday then went to the Eiffel Tower with some friends for a very French, five-hour picnic lunch. I got quite sunburnt, too! We had fun. Some French creeper who was still drunk from the Fete yesterday came over and bugged us...but we've all gotten pretty talented when it comes to getting rid of them. I don't get where the "French guys are hot" stereotype thing comes from...because all of them I've seen have just been creepy (and everyone else agrees with me). I will take American boys over French ones any day.

Riley =)

Fête de la Musique and Giverny

Today is the Fête de la Musique here in Paris. What is that? It's an all-day music festival that goes on all across the city. I wandered around the 16th arrondissement (which is where I live) with my friend Katrina earlier and we walked by a few concerts, but they were ones you had to pay for. Still, it was cool seeing all of the people in their "concert costumes." I hadn't seen people in Paris dressed in punk/goth/whatever clothes at all, but apparently they save it for concerts. We're going to go over to Bastille later because there's supposed to be more going on over there, including a band called Madamoiselle K that Katrina likes. And it's supposed to be free! The Metro runs all night tonight in honor of the Fête de la Musique.

Yesterday, I went to Giverny, which is Claude Monet's old home. It was BEAUTIFUL! I definitely recommend that anyone go there if they ever come to Paris! It's in Normandy, so it's a good hour and a half drive outside of Paris, but it's worth it. The gardens are breathtaking. It was amazing seeing the Japanese gardens and the water lilies that Monet made famous in his paintings. There are literally flowers everywhere at Giverny...growing up the sides of the house, planted in gardens, growing up trellises, covering signs... We ate at a restaurant that had gorgeous gardens out in front of it, too, and had some amazing apple tart.

I'm off to enjoy the music!
Riley =)

Professors and PDA

Not at the same time, though. Yes, that's right...more observations. In case you hadn't figured it out yet, I like to people watch and make connections.

PDA. It's EVERYWHERE! Everywhere you look, there's another couple making out in a very public spot. On the Metro, in front of Notre Dame, on the sidewalk while walking, at a cafe, at McDo, in a bookstore...there is no such thing as a faux pas when it comes to public displays of affection here. In fact, people seem to think it's weird just to see a couple walking along together NOT acting like they are completely and totally infatuated with one another. People don't just hold hands here...they basically go as far as they can go without taking any clothes off. At first, it was kind of funny...now it's kind of annoying. Pushing through a making out couple to get off the Metro is irritating. But good for the French for loosening up about something for once!

Professors. They're...different. Time is not really an issue. It's totally normal for a professor to keep his class 5-10 minutes after he's supposed to, which is NOT okay with all of us impatient Americans who are used to packing up and sprinting out right when the clock hits time. The professor also shows up to class somewhere in the first ten minutes of when class is supposed to start. So, the start and end times of class are kind of fuzzy, because it's pretty much whenever the prof wants it to happen. My French 301 professor always gets to IES at 11am, which is when class starts...but he goes and gets a coffee, picks up a newspaper, gets a cup of water, etc. before actually coming into the classroom.

I just found out that this Saturday is the Fete de la Musique, which is basically a 24-hour party devoted to free music across the whole city. The Metro runs 24 hours a day this weekend (usually it closes between 1 and 2am on the weekends), and quiet hours aren't in effect, which means people can be as loud and crazy as they want to at all hours of the night. Supposedly, there are concerts in every arrondissement and most parks. It should be interesting to check out.

I'm going to Nice in two weeks and I CANNOT WAIT! Sun and summer weather is LONG overdue!

Riley =)

I Fall Up Stairs

So, I've fallen going up the stairs twice in the past couple of days in Metro Stations (once in Michel-Ange Molitor and once in Gaite). The fall in Gaite caused me to bang up my knee...so now I look pretty goofy when I'm walking up and down stairs. Maybe it's good, though, cause it makes me pay more attention to the stairs so I don't fall again!

I bought the new Coldplay albu, Viva La Vida, at FNAC yesterday. Go buy it. It's awesome. It's very different for those of you who say every Coldplay song sounds the same. I'm partial to the songs "Lost!," "Viva La Vida," and "Yes." Their first single, "Violet Hill," is pretty awesome, too. Check it out online and then go buy it. You won't regret it.

Today, I'm going to a park during the after the afternoon. Friday is a field trip to Giverny, Monet's home...exciting.

Riley =)