Constant Freakout (in pearls)

Two Old Friends

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 18:36:00 +0000

BONN
Drew and I visited Matt in Bonn, Germany two weekends ago. Matt's working in a lab at the University there and wanted us to come see his nice little town. So Drew and I hopped a train Friday after work to Cologne where Matt met us and got us to Bonn. We ate a fantastic dinner of pizza and then headed to Matt's home to catch up and drink a little wine : )

After a glorious morning of sleeping in, we finally got up around 10 and took a ferry down the Rhine to a cute little town at the foot of a 'hill.' I say hill b/c after climbing it, I felt like I'd hiked a mountain. Anyway, we went up this steep hill to see two castles. Halfway up was a gorgeous home built but I don't think it was always occupied. Then at the top were the ruins of another castle. What an accomplishment to make it to the top. The views were worth it! We made our way back down and explored the town a little. I had a brotwurst as a snack. yum : ) We took the ferry back. This was such a wonderful ride. It was pretty cheap round trip and so enjoyable. Back in Bonn, we walked around and explored some. Matt showed us Beethoven's birthplace. We had a wonderful, traditional German meal at a cute little place in a square. Then we had apple streudle for dessert. OMG...experiencing different countries' desserts has been the best part of my time here. We stopped in a little bar for some German beer. Drew and I usually don't like beer but this wheat beer was pretty good.

The next day, we slept in even later and packed up. Matt showed us where he worked (aww) and the gorgeous botanical gardens. Then we hopped a train to Cologne. We wandered there to find me the Hardrock. I am collecting workout shirts from my travels: Dublin, Berlin, Amsterdam, and now Cologne. It was so cool, they had the German spelling version also: Koln (with two dots over the o). So I bought that one : ) Yes, I will also buy one in Rome next week! On our wanderings, we saw a beer bike go by. That was hilarious. So then Drew and I had to leave Matt :'( But good news!! He decided to come visit us the next weekend (this past weekend). So it wasn't goodbye.

DISNEY
So the Thursday of last week, Drew did something he never does. He got sick :-/ He stayed home from work on Friday hoping to recover but alas, I had to break the bad news to Matt when I met him at the train station...Drew probably won't be going to Disney with us. Saturday morning, Drew got up and got ready but at the RER station, decided to go back home. So Matt, Emily, and I went to Disney without Drew. I was so sad! But the three of us had a great time!!! It was pretty much all the same rides but the park was smiler and neater. We rode Peter Pan, Pinnochio, It's a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours (my favorite-though this one was more painful), the haunted house , and the Mad Hatter's teacups. OMG...it was just like being a kid : ) I love Peter Pan b/c you're in a flying ship and you look over London before you're taken to Neverland. Pinnochio is scary :-/ I LOVE It's a small world....that ride rocks. Pirates was so great...it was more thrilling than I remembered with uphills and splashes. Star Tours is so awesome, but this one was a lot jerkier. The haunted mansion is so great. And Matt drove the teacups as crazy as dad used to! I kinda looked at the ground and waited for that one to be over. In addition to the classes, we rode Big Thunder Mountain, the run away mine train. This one was awesome because we went underground in the dark and most of the ride was on an island in the lake. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril was a sweet little roller coaster. Before getting on, I asked Emily and Matt if it went upside down cuz I didn't know what to do with my purse. They didn't think so. Of course, half way through was a loop. Haha. Something new was Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast. THIS RIDE IS AWESOME. It's really silly and for kids, but we got to blast at the bad guys the whole ride. Emily dominated over me but it was great. And last but not least, Space Mountain. Except this was Mission 2. It was incredible. Roller coasters are a lot more enjoyable in the dark. We got off and I couldn't stop giggling...we did that ride again before leaving. We had a blast!!!! I was sad Drew wasn't there but he would've been miserable.

TOUR DE FRANCE
The next day though, Drew felt well enough to camp out on the Champs Elysees with us to see the end of the TdF. We got out there by 11 and parked along the barrier by the Mercedes Benz dealership across the street from Louis Vuitton. It rained off an on for a bit but was cleared up by one. Eventually Emily, Tara, Nanda, and Rick joined us, one by one. We were expecting the riders 4ish based on the tour website but they didn't arrive till 5ish.

I felt bad cuz Matt's train was 5:52 and he had to leave at 5:15 but at least he got to see a couple of laps. It was exhilirating to be there again. I saw the tour end in 2004 when Lance won his 6th, but this was just as awesome. The man in yellow was a Discovery guy so we still had plenty to cheer about. After the laps, we headed down the CE to try to find the podium. We were behind it but Drew got some amazing photos for me : )

Then we found a semi-good spot to see the team laps after. It was a long but great day!!!

photos:
bonn
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2151371&l=77f11&id=12600427

bonn bonn
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2151375&l=1aa98&id=12600427

Disney
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2152185&l=84b3b&id=12600427

Tour de France 1
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2152221&l=c42b7&id=12600427

Tour de France 2
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2152241&l=569c5&id=12600427

Family Snapshot

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:40:00 +0000

Mom and Dad visited!!!!!!!!!! I was so excited to have them here. Drew and I picked them up at the airport Sunday and helped them get to their hotel. Then we found a little restaurant to sit in and catch up. Monday, Drew and I had to work but M&D came to our apartment for dinner and to do some laundry since they'd been traveling for two weeks already. After dinner, we headed back to the Latin Quarter for a yummy crepe dessert. Wednesday we saw Harry Potter 5 on the Champs Elysees and then walked to the Arc de Triomphe for some night photos while eating, what else, a McFlurry : ) Thursday, M&D came back to our place for dinner and brought yummy dessert. Friday we got M&D into the Louvre for free with our year passes. We showed them all the highlights-Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Napoleon Apartments, Hamurabi's Code-and then took a nice walk along the Seine. It's been warming up a little but M&D saw a lot of rain here in Paris.

We had a full weekend of sightseeing and crowds. Saturday we headed to Versailles to see the palace and explore the grounds. I finally got to see Marie Antoinette's 'playground.' She had a peasant village built just for her to play in. It was so cute though. Then we headed back into Paris for dinner and Bastille Day fireworks. Along with 500,000+ other people, we packed into Champ de Mars by the Eiffel Tower to see the show. It was incredible...until it was time to go. The crowd dispersed in all directions to find the nearest open metro. I think Drew and I ended up walking half-way home!

Sunday, we took M&D up to Montmartre. Despite being 'attacked' by the bracelet guys (one actually TOUCHED me), they enjoyed Sacre Coeur but were not impressed with Moulin Rouge. "This is it!?" mom asked : ) Then we headed across the river to Les Invalides. I'd only seen Napoleon's tomb so it was fun to explore all the war museums. They have amazing exhibits. I was very impressed.

Monday, M&D came back to our place for one last dinner and load of laundry. We gave dad a little early bday present and stuck a match in a pastry for him :-P

And then, like they hadn't been here at all, they were gone. I can't believe their week flew by so fast :'(

photos:
beginning of week with M&D:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2149105&l=e01ed&id=12600427

versailles:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2149109&l=0c58c&id=12600427

fireworks:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2149171&l=eb1e2&id=12600427

end of week with M&D:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2149175&l=cce8d&id=12600427

In This Town

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:42:00 +0000

Drew and I visited Emily last weekend!!!! It was awesome. We arrived 10ish in Lyon so Friday night we kinda just sat around and caught up. Saturday was awesome though. We didn't sleep in too late and headed toward Old Lyon. We went in Cathedrale St. Jean and then went up Fourviere hill (the majority of my pictures with the cathedral and mini Eiffel Tower are up on Fourviere Hill). There is an amazing view of Lyon, which we enjoyed for several minutes before going into the Basilique Notre Dame. This church was beautiful! From floor to ceiling, there were mosaics. It was just lovely. When we entered, a group was up front singing so we sat and enjoyed the free concert before wandering around. Several photos later, we headed back down the hill, wandered Vieux (old) Lyon and found a wonderful lunch (kebabs). Then we walked through Place des Terreaux where the cool fountain, city hall, and fine arts museum were. After a time out for me to play in the little mini fountains, we headed back to Emily's to get sunscreen and take a potty break.

Refreshed, we took a long walk down the Rhone to Parc de la Tete d'Or (park of the gold head). The rumor behind this name is that a gold head of Jesus is buried somewhere in the park. We had a great time. We rented a little boat and Drew was our southern gentleman who rowed us around. I tried but it's definitely harder than it looks. I never had internal rhythm so I couldn't sync the oars...I suck. We had a leisurely row along the lake and then walked towards the rose gardens. Ready for some r&r, we headed inside and saw Shrek the Thirds : ) sooooooooooo cute. I was pleased. Even though Emily and I had consumed a whole thing of pringles and Drew a huge bag of gummy bears, we decided we were ready for dinner and headed back to Emily's part of town for dinner. Having seen signs in vieux Lyon for a fete du quartier (neighborhood party), we headed back to that area to see what was going on...it ended up, not much. There were a bunch of little kids running around, there were two guys on stage trying to be funny, and a string of lights up to decorate the square. We stayed maybe twenty minutes. I think we all slept well that night.

Sunday, we were really slow to move. Finally dressed, we walked through Lyon's market. Drew and I aren't new to markets, we have to avoid ours Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Our narrow sidewalk is crowded with people selling unmentionables, beauty products, clothes, as well as the normal food/flower stands. Lyon's market, however, was FANTASTIC. Drew and I loved it. ONLY food and flowers, there were so many options. Drew and I ended up buying a sandwich, fruit, and dessert for lunch. We had to catch a 2 pm train so we headed back to Emily's to eat our treats and grab our stuff.

It was a wonderful weekend and we appreciate Emily putting up with us : )

Photos:
music and lyon:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2142528&l=1dc8e&id=12600427

lyon again:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2142564&l=9b8eb&id=12600427

Music of the Night

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:27:00 +0000

June 21 was Fete de la Musique (Party/Holiday of the Music) in France. Launched back in 1982, the day of summer solstice, this event is a gathering of professional and amateur musicians. So pretty much, all over Paris, there was music in the streets.

Drew and I, along with our dear friend Casey visiting for the event, hung out in the Latin quarter most of the night. We heard a lot of good music, got some free ice cream, and had an awesome time. The drumline on Ile St Louis was pretty great too!

Photos:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2142528&l=1dc8e&id=12600427
(the first 29...the rest are Lyon)

Amsterdam

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:48:00 +0000

WOW!!!!!!!

Drew and I took a 10pm bus from La Defense to Amsterdam. We arrived at 6 AM at Amstel Station on the edge of town. From there, we hit the ground running. We walked to our hotel, were somehow able to check in at 7 am, and went touring from there. Amsterdam is a lovely town at 8 am when not many people are out and about. The canals really romanticize and otherwise dirty city.

We started with the Anne Frank House because we were warned there are always lines...and of course as we walk up we get stuck behind an annoying group of (gasp) American tourists. Oh lord, there was this one mother that annoyed the junk out of me...makes me not want to have kids just so I couldn't possibly end up like that! Anyway...the AFH was incredible. Not awesome incredible like the chateaux of last week, but moving incredible. The rooms didn't feel that small but I guess after being stuck in them with 7 other people and not being able to move during the day, it'd get claustrophobic. They had lots of documents and items in each room and you could see on the wall where they marked Anne and Margot's heights as they grew. Each room had quotes from the diary too. It was just incredible. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to go.

From there, Drew and I wandered to the Dam...the square with the Royal Palace and a national monument. At the time, there was a field set up for a soccer game. We saw a line for Madame Tussauds but I don't understand why people would pay money to see wax! We somehow found ourselves in the Red Light District trying to find Old Church. After a couple of embarrassing side streets, we found the church which was beautiful. It is the earliest parish church of Amsterdam. We wandered a couple of blocks over to de Waag, apparently the oldest building in Amsterdam and now a restaurant.

Exhausted, we figured out how to take the metro and headed towards Rembrandtplein... Rembrandt's Square. With a cool statue of Rembrandt and a 3D version of his famous "Night Watch" this was by far my favorite 'plein.' We decided for a bit of culture after that and went to the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum. In my photos, the Rijksmuseum is huge but they are obviously renovating so only 200 works are available to the public right now. I saw some gorgeous Vermeers (but my favorite is at The Hague) and Rembrandts. Van Gogh was a great museum just in the way it was organized. Each room represented a part of his life and explained where he was (he lived all over the Netherlands and France) and what was influencing his work. I really appreciated those aspects of the visit. The most famous pieces I recognized there were 'Sunflowers' and 'The Bedroom.'

Wandering around again, we came across a cute restaurant that we made reservations for hoping to fit in the Heineken Experience before the time. Of course, as we walked up to the H-E we saw 3 tour buses outside so we decided to do a canal tour instead, which was good because it started to rain. I'm glad we got to do a canal tour because we were able to cover so much more ground.

After dinner (yum), we just walked around taking in the sites. By nightfall, which isn't until 9, we were ready to head back to the hotel. Amsterdam is a gorgeous city. The canals and architecture are amazing. I'm so glad I finally got to come, but I admit, this isn't a city I'll feel the need to come back to.

photos:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2141282&l=47747&id=12600427

Castle on a Cloud

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:26:00 +0000

This past Saturday, Drew and I went to the Loire Valley to see some castles. You can't spend a large amount of time in France and not see castles! So we got up uber-early and caught a 7:50 train to Tours (where I studied abroad 3 summers ago) to do some excursions in the area. Our 9-12:30 tour took us to Villandry and Azay le Rideau.

Villandry was amazing!!! Built in 1536 by a minister of finance, it is 3 stories tall with a 4 story tower overlooking its amazing gardens. There is a water garden, a maze, flowers, and herbs.

Azay le Rideau was just as awesome. It has an open staircase in the front (making it too cold for me) and is about 3 stories also. It doesn't have cultivated gardens, just an nice wilderness to wander around on.

We were back in Tours for about an hour and I showed Drew the cathedral and we wandered some. Then we headed back to the tourist office for our 1:45 tour which took us to Chambord and Cheverny.

After driving over an hour, we pulled into the impressive drive leading to Chambord. This castle is HUGE-over 400 rooms, 20 something stairways, and 4 stories. The main stairway is a cool double helix Da Vinci-created thing. It's confusing but fun. The place is just massive and was only built as a hunting lodge!!!!!!!!!!!! Can someone say waste of materials!?!?

Cheverny was more of a large mansion than castle but still lovely. The family still lives in part of the house. I loved the furnishings. The grounds were nice; there was a small garden and just a large park to walk around in. This castle also had 120+ hounds to visit but signs asked us not to 'excite' them.

We got back to Tours 7ish and ate dinner and had a lovely dessert. I showed Drew where I took classes and the cool square where we hung out. It was an overall great day!

Photos:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2139130&l=586ba&id=12600427

Play the Game

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:19:00 +0000

Drew and I went to the French Open!!!! I know you must be wondering how in the world we got french open tickets...it was pretty easy. At 5 pm everyday for the first 3 rounds, they resell tickets for seats that have been vacated for the day. Drew and I were going to get in line at 4 (haha) and see if we could get any...well we got to that side of town kind of early so we decided to check out Roland Garros at 2:30 just to see and there was already a small line...so we decided to just start waiting...yes, we waited 2 and a half hours!! The time went pretty fast even though it was hot. So, by being at the front of the line, we were able to by 29 euro tickets for row one of stadium Philippe Chatrier (the main stadium) and see Nadal play. Now, I'm no expert at tennis (ask Drew how many times I asked what Nadal's name was) but I know a good thing when it happens to me. And this was a GOOD thing. Nadal pretty much dominated Montanes and won the match. He also ended up winning all of the French Open!!! This was definitely an amazing day!
Nadal

Montanes

in Philippe Chatrier

Philippe Chatrier Stadium

photos:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2137172&l=8edfd&id=12600427

Here With Me

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Fri, 25 May 2007 11:14:00 +0000

Drew's here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you feel the excitement!?!? The week leading up to his arrival drug on...but he got here safely Saturday May 12. His plane landed at 7:39 AM but I didn't see him until closer to 9:30. His luggage was not with him but that just made our trip back into Paris easier.

After getting back to the apartment and eating a snack, we headed off for a lovely walked tour of Paris. We headed first to the Eiffel Tower and pretty much followed the same route I usually take guests on, crossing the river to Trocadero, walking to the Arc, down the C-E (with a little lunch break), through the Tuileries to the Louvre. But did we stop there!? NO!!!!!!!!!! We crossed the river and walked along the Seine to Notre Dame. I'll admit, by then I was exhausted!! Drew conked out for a bit and then we had dinner and saw Spiderman 3. Poor Drew was falling asleep and I don't think it was because the movie was horrible...I won't go there.

Sunday, we were less ambitious. It was a pretty morning so we packed a picnic and headed to Luxembourg Gardens. Of course, once we got off the metro, it was all cloudy. As we were walking in the park it started pouring! So we took cover in the gazebo with the Frenchies and waited it out. We headed back home and then met up with Guillaume for the rest of the afternoon. He gave us an impromptu (sp?) tour of the Chatelet area and we sat in a cafe for a bit. It was a nice afternoon.

Monday, I had to return back to work and Drew headed to the Marie Curie Institute to start research. Thursday, we had the day off but since the weather was bad we headed to the Louvre. Then we walked around a bit.

The next weekend was awesome. Saturday we went to Giverny to see Monet's home and gardens. It was a gorgeous day and the gardens were in full bloom! There's not much in the town except Monet's home.

The train station was in nearbye Vernon so we toured around there a bit too. Sunday we went to the Longchamp racetrack to watch some horse races. The weather was nasty but it was free and we enjoyed it!

This past weekend, some of our friends from USC came to visit: Ellory, David, Josh, and Jess. Despite the nasty weather, we had a great time seeing all the touristy things and just being silly together.

photos:

Drew
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2134220&l=88fd3&id=12600427

David/Josh/Ellory/Jess:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2136350&l=a45bf&id=12600427

Good Golly Miss Molly!!!

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Fri, 11 May 2007 07:21:00 +0000

One of my many favorite people in the world came to visit me last weekend. That's right, I got to spend 3 whole nights and 2 whole days with MOLLY!!!!!!!!! I love this girl dearly and we had a great time in the city of love ;-)

So we met up at the Louvre because I had to work till 6. We wandered around there for a bit, mostly just chatting instead of enjoying the art. After dropping stuff off at my apartment, we went back into town for dinner. I drug her, like I do all my guests, to my favorite crepe place in the latin quarter. yum!!!! Then we walked around a bit. We were going to take a bus back because there had been creepy guys at the metro but of course my nightbus wasn't running...this is why I NEVER take the bus. Luckily we were able to hop on the metro before it stopped running.

Saturday was a fully day of seeing Paris. We started at Montmartre with Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge. Then we metroed down to the latin quarter area to see Notre Dame and grab lunch. Then we walked along the Seine to Musee d'Orsay. We were cold so we took in some art. Then we crossed the river to the Tuileries and walked towards the Louvre. Molly wanted to see it during the day. We decided to grab coffee after that because we were still cold, so we sat in a cafe for a bit before heading over to the Lequire's for sausage and grits...fantastic!!!! On the metro home, Emily, Nanda, Tara, and I were a bit crazy from boredom but Molly survived :-P

Sunday we got up early to hit the Eiffel Tower line before it was a mile long. The line wasn't horrible, just the guy in line behind us. OMG can we please learn about personal space!?!? Anyway, we went up to the second level and took loads of pictures and had a coffee/hot chocolate to warm up. From there, we crossed the river to go to the Trocadero so Molly could get a full photo of the ET and then we walked to the Arc de Triomphe. There were stands and stuff set up for the May 8th holiday and the Champs Elysees was all decorated with flags. It was so pretty!! So we walked down the Champs Elysees to the Tuileries where we hung out a bit since it was warming up. Then we walked to Opera so Molly could see the prettiest building in Paris :-D We decided to stay outside a bit longer so we headed to Luxembourg gardens where we sat and bambini-stalked. It was a great afternoon.

Molly left Monday morning and I returned to my internship. It's been a good week and Drew arrives this weekend!!!!!!!!!!

photos:
last week of school:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2130631&l=af2d2&id=12600427

molly!!!
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2130637&l=4b4b8&id=12600427

The End Has Only Begun

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 13:54:00 +0000

Hi...it's been awhile, practically a month a guess. But what a month! I'll pick up from the second when I got my internship. The next day my advisor Louis arrived for the week. I was excited to tell him I finally had an internship. We had french track family dinner at a lovely restaurant (thanks Darla). The next week was our second week of vacation. I wish I could say I went somewhere exciting and exotic but hey, I already live in Paris...where else is better. I had a wonderfully lazy week of sleeping in.

One of the days we went to Reims (say the word rinse with a snotty french accent), the capital of Champagne for a little visit. We had such beautiful weather. It was the cutest little town. The cathedral was beautiful. Twenty-six French kings were coronated in that cathedral! How awesome is it to be in the same place where 26 kings were!?!? We also took a tour of Madame Pommery's 'cave,' one of the oldest and well-known champagne makers. The cave has different art exhibits each year which made the tour quite exciting (and the photographs really funny).

On Sunday of the break, I did a little walking tour of Montmarte based on an article I found (well technically Jenna found it) of Amelie film sites. It was a gorgeous (but hot) day and Paris is starting to fill up with tourists. Nevertheless, I saw some pretty little streets and it was good to be out of the house and get some exercise.

After vacation, I had three days of class left and then we had to take the TEF (test of evaluation of french). After finishing the test, we picnicked in Luxembourg gardens. It was the perfect ending to a not so perfect semester. On Friday, some of us did a daytrip to Normandy!! We visited Caen (um, con with a snotty french accent) and drove up to the coast and saw Omaha Beach. It was a fantastic road trip...we heard crazy music on the radio...video killed the radio star, wonderwall, just crazy stuff! The beach was cold with the breeze coming off the English Channel. But it was nice to be out on the coast...we took a little walk on the beach. It was an amazing place.

This past week was a change of pace. Some of the awesome Global Trackers came to visit us the first half of the week, but we still had seminars and business visits. Monday, we visited a L'Oreal factory. Nerdy, but it was awesome. We saw different assembly lines. The robotics and machines were incredible, especially for hair dye kits where three different things go in a box with a set of instructions...it's so cool how the process is lined up with 3 empty bottles that get filled up, labeled, capped, and shoved in a box together. Tuesday evening, we hung out at the Trocadero with the Global Trackers. It's doing stuff like that that makes me love living here in Paris. On Friday, we visited the Paris Chamber of Commerce. We were all expecting boredome like on our visit in Brussels, but this building was beautiful! We were given a tour of the mansion and a little bit of the history. In the afternoon, we visited Ariane Space...the French NASA. We got to see how rockets were made and actually saw some in different stages of production. It's amazing that building something that can go into space is possible.

So now I'm just chilling till my internship starts on Thursday. I'm excited and nervous. There will definitely be an update at the end of the week. Till then enjoy my millions of photos:

champagne:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2123535&l=f5214&id=12600427

montmartre:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2124014&l=abb2a&id=12600427

spring photos:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2122186&l=504cd&id=12600427

roadtrip to normandy part 1:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2125672&l=bce4f&id=12600427

roadtrip part 2:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2125674&l=5f5cc&id=12600427

At Last

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 13:20:00 +0000

At last....
My stage* has come along,
My worried days are over,
And life is like a song!!!
Oh at last!

*stage = internship

So, as you might have guessed, things went well with my Michel Dyens interview. I will be doing research on industries and companies and reporting my findings. I am soooo excited about this opportunity. I met two ladies, Amelie and Katri, who both seem very nice so I'm looking forward to working with them. The office is on rue Montaigne...along with Chanel, Valentino, Armani, Jimmy Choo, and other fancy boutiques. The street is off of Champs-Elysees if that explains anything. Nanda is working at L'Oreal at place de la Concorde, so I expect lots of lunch dates with her :-D I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Days Go By + Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 09:35:00 +0000

I know it's been awhile....there hasn't been too much going on. The weekend after Jenna left, Casey and Becca came and stayed with me. That was a fun weekend...I did some things I hadn't done yet and it was fun playing tourist again. We went inside Opera Garnier which was a GORGEOUS building. We visited some museums I hadn't seen yet. It was fun to have more girly time.

Besides that...I've just been living. Classes are going...the teachers have started giving tests...not fun. I've been desperately searching for an internship. In the span of 5 days I applied, had an interview, and was rejected. At least they didn't leave me guessing. I have a lead with Michel Dyens, a financial advisor. Check out their website www.micheldyens.com. Hopefully they will be the one. I'm really excited about what this company does, so I hope this works out. So there are only 3 weeks left of school with a week of vacation in there too. So I'm starting an internship in four weeks. I am terrified!!! I enjoy new things but a new job + new people + new experiences = scary.

Since I've just been going back and forth between school and home...I've noticed lots of things about my neighborhood. There is a vent on the sidewalk down the street from my apartment. Pidgeons love to sleep on it...I guess it's warm. But walking by, when the thing is covered with pidgeons and you can't see it, it just looks like homeless pidgeons sleeping on the sidewalk. The other day, as I was walking by, a little boy ran through and scattered them. I thought it was funny, his mom just had a tired exasperated look on her face. I also pass a daycare on the way to the metro. I love watching kids get dropped/picked up. They are so adorable and happy.

So, the other evening we had an 'etiquette' dinner at the school restaurant. We met at 7:15 and didn't leave until midnight! This dinner was 7 courses long!! and it could have been 8! First we started with calamari as the mise-en-bouche (kinda like an hors d'oeuvre but at the table) and then had a hot appetizer of either foie gras or boudin (sausage). There could have also been a cold appetizer but the restaurant didn't include one. We had a fish plate and then a meat plate. There was a nice selection of cheeses and then DESSERT!!!!!! The meal ended with coffee and a plate of sweet goodies. There was a nice professor there that taught us a little big about the history of the french table and a little etiquette.

Yesterday was Jamie's golden birthday: 31 on the 31st!!! We had dinner at a cute little restaurant in the Oberkampf area. This dinner also lasted four hours, but it was a lot more enjoyable!!! The weather is finally picking up. Today is a gorgeous day! The only problem is now tourists will be flooding in and the metro will be a lot smellier...I guess it's a small price to pay for living in this fantastic city!

march photos:
in like a lion:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2118262&l=8f131&id=12600427

out like a lamb:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2118357&l=72058&id=12600427

You're My Best Friend

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 10:04:00 +0000

Jenna came to visit me for her spring break!!!! We had such a fun time this past week and I miss her already :'( I picked her up (late :-/) from the airport Saturday afternoon and we dropped her stuff off at my apartment. Then we went on a whirlwind tour of Paris. We started at the Eiffel Tower, walked to the Arc de Triomphe, and down the Champs-Elysees to Place de la Concorde. Then we metroed it to the Latin Quarter and ate at a crazy mexican restaurant!!! It was crazy in there. The margaritas were 7 euro but so worth it! Then we went over to Nanda's for a quick hello and a bottle (or 4) of champagne.

Sunday started kind of late for us. We met some of the group at the Jam place (please see Emily's blog entry on the wonders of Bonne Maman jam) for a free lunch. Then we headed to Versailles with P(f)aff. So we kinda took the rer illegally out there. Well, we used our zone 1-2 tickets (well Jenna's went to 3) but Versailles is in zone 4. When we got off the RER, on the other side of the turnstiles where we have to run our tickets through (and ours wouldn't have worked b/c they weren't for zone 4) was a line of cops writing tickets for people jumping turnstiles, which we would have had to do. So, brilliant Pfaff had this idea, we went back to a zone 3 stop (only 2 back) and I used Jenna's ticket to exit and bought 3 zone 3/4 tickets (much cheaper than zone 1-4) and we went back to Versailles. Of course, the cops weren't there anymore >:O Anyway, we had a lovely afternoon at Versailles and in the gardens.

I had class all week :'( so I didn't get to show Jenna everything but she went to a bunch of places during the week and had a good time. Monday we had a relaxing evening, but Tuesday we went out to dinner because Shaun and David came to visit. Jenna ended up hanging out with them during the day Wednesday and then we went to the Louvre for free Wednesday after class because it was open later. Thursday during my lunch break we went to the Middle Ages Museum because the Lady and the Unicorn Tapestry series is there. One of our favorite authors-Tracy Chevalier-wrote a book about the story behind the tapestries. Check out her website: http://www.tchevalier.com/index.html. Thursday evening we met in the Latin Quarter for dinner at my crepe place and then did a Bateaux-Mouches boat ride on the Seine. Friday we met on the Champs-Elysees for a date! We did dinner at a cafe and saw a movie (Breaking and Entering). It was a great end to the week. I got her to the airport Saturday morning. It was harder than I thought to say goodbye. We're used to our long-distance relationship but she was like having a little bit of home here and I didn't want her to go! :'( So I went back to the jam place for some jam-therapy with Emily.

here are some photos:
Jenna in Paris-
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2113388&l=d7979&id=12600427

Versailles-
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2113659&l=161f4&id=12600427

Every Picture Tells a Story

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 10:50:00 +0000

Hi! I finally put up all my pictures (and by all, I chose 300 out of 800). Here they are:

dublin:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2111966&l=c5faa&id=12600427

more dublin:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2111983&l=a3320&id=12600427

cork:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2111989&l=2c0fe&id=12600427

Eastern Germany:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2112239&l=4b687&id=12600427

Berlin:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2112241&l=729e8&id=12600427

Enjoy!

My Traveling Star

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 20:22:00 +0000

**not finished...more pics to come**

So the first week of vacation, I decided to take myself away to Ireland. I guess I worded that oddly, but seriously, I used this trip as a chance to save myself from...myself. The past couple of weeks leading up to vacation have been stress-filled. In two months I am starting an internship. What internship you may ask...well that's a GOOD question because I still don't know and it's freaking me out. When I get stressed out, I don't do to well in large crowds...ie Paris. So I needed to get the 'hout' as Emily and Nanda would say. I've always wanted to see Ireland so I went. It has been such a learning experience.

My flight was early Saturday morning so I had to catch the metro when it opened at 6am. I was flying out of Paris Beauvais which is over an hour out of Paris by bus. The metro stopped two stops away from the stop where I needed to meet the bus. I freaked out. A very nice guard/worker/man told me to follow the signs for a bus that would take me to the stop. So I did. It was actually very easy (because I followed the crowd...baaaah). So I took the €13 bus to Beauvais. Let me tell you about this airport. It is tiny!!! There was such a long line to check in...and then an even longer line for passport control. Security went quickly but then I just entered a big room with four gates. I had no idea what gate my flight was from so I just chilled. I met this very nice couple, Emily and Sage. So it ended up this flight was free for all when it comes to seating but somehow I had preferred seating so I got to get on the plane first. Yay for small favors. It was an easy flight to Ireland. Upon landing, I got my luggage and caught a bus to Dublin. The bus station was pretty close to my hostel so it was easy to get there and check in.

So the rest of Saturday I wandered around and got to know Dublin. I saw Dublin castle, Chester Beatty Library and the special exhibit Sacred Traditions (cool religious books and artifacts), Dublinia (a way kitch-y exhibit of the vikings influence on Dublin), Christ Church Cathedral (gorgeous), and Trinity College and the Book of Kells (a Latin version of the four gospels). It was a busy day.

Sunday, I got up early (and still had ten hours of sleep) and enjoyed the free Irish breakfast provided by the hostel. I took a quick walk along the river Liffey and saw Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Jonathan Swift was dean there (it's good to be dean :-P) for awhile and is now buried there.
At 11, I took a bus tour along the south coast and saw Powerscourt Estate. It was amazing!! The tour price included admittance to the gardens. I had an hour and a half to wander around. It was sooooo windy. The fountain in the middle of the lake was getting me wet!

I got back to Dublin 3ish and went to the free art gallery. I wandered a little but was so tired I headed back to the hostel early. I had fish and chips for dinner!

Monday was another Ireland fun filled day! I got up a little later and took a tour at 10 am towards the north coast. We visited Malahide castle.
This castle has been in the Talbot family for over 800 years but the latest owener, the Honorable Rose Talbot had to sell it to the Dublin government. After the tour, I went to the Guinness Factory and learned how beer was made: hops, barley, water, yeast.

Monday was also a big day for me in another regard. I learned how to be alone...well, conquered! I ate in a restaurant alone. A full, sit down, waiter, bill, and all restaurant. Then, I went and saw a movie alone. I sat through a movie in a movie theater alone. I'm a big girl now!

Tuesday morning, I had an early (but cheap) flight to Cork. Heading to the airport, I was actually sad to be leaving Dublin. I had fun discovering the ins and outs and had made it mine in a way so I felt like I was leaving home. I slept off an on to Cork and arrived to wonderful Irish weather of rain and wind. I had to wait about 15 minutes for the bus to arrive to take us soggy travellers to Cork. I must admit I did a good job booking hostels because both the Dublin and Cork hostel were right down the road from the main bus stations. I am not, however, good at finding hostels and walked past this one also while trying to find it.

Anyway, it was about noon, I couldn't go to my room, so I left my luggage 'in good hands' and left to wander around. I walked through the fantastic shopping street (sigh) and found St. Finn Barr's Cathedral. Service was in progress and had just started so I didn't feel like waiting around. I headed back into town, checked in the hostel, and decided to head to Blarney, about half an hour away. It had been raining a little in Cork but the weather at Blarney was fantastic!! I fell in love (again) that day. When people say go to your happy place in your mind, I'll revisit Blarney. Anway, you walk through the front gate where you pay, and it's kind of woodsy so you can't see the castle.

The grounds are gorgeous and there's a small stream. After crossing a cute bridge you can see the castle. It looks like the cover of a romance novel Nish and I would read. It is gorgeous! Writing makes me want to go back. It's such an old stone castle. Visitors have free reign to walk through as they want. The spiral stone stairs were kind of steep and slippery. It is hard to imagine people living there! From what remains, you can see the kitchen, chapel, banqueting room, family room, great hall, 4 different bedrooms, and then the blarney stone is on the 'roof'. The views, by the way, are incredible from up there! So I had to do it...I kissed the blarney stone! it's freaky but so worth it! Besides, what's the point of going!? And no Drew, no mouth herpes! The grounds of Blarney castle are amazing. I wandered around for a little bit before leaving. So when I got back that evening, I researched what to do the next day since Cork didn't have too much going on and I didn't have any money to take advantage of the amazing shopping.

I ended up taking a bus to Killarney about two hours away to visit the National Park and see Castle Ross. It was so windy but it was an amazing walk through the woods and fields.

I felt like Keira Knightly in Pride and Prejudice (I like to walk; Yes, I know). The strong wind turned into a storm though so I ended up soggy. I'd love to return in better weather because it is a huge park with lots of attractions (both nature and historical castles). I stayed for about four hours before giving in to nature and taking a bus back. I had dinner with some new friends at the hostel.

My flight to Berlin was at 6:50 Thursday morning. I slept most of the way! When I landed in Berlin, I had to take a metro-ish train into the city to the main train station to buy a ticket to Chemnitz (where Pat lives) via Leipzig (where we met to walk around). I had some issues with the metro part but after that I was fine. And I don't speak German! So in Leipzig, besides a little bit of hail, Pat and I saw the church where Bach is buried. It's a nice little town. We took the train on to Chemnitz, another hour-long ride. After dumping my stuff in Pat's room, we did a quick tour of Chemnitz, famous for its large Karl Marx head, and then met up with Pat's awesome friends for dinner at a Hungarian restaurant.

Friday morning, Pat and I took a train to Dresden. I was very excited about seeing this town because I played a piece of music in memory of the bombing of Dresden. It was a beautiful town! After dumping our stuff at Pat's friend's place, we set off. I had a bratwurst for lunch (yum). We saw so much! We went into the Zwinger, an old Palace that is now different museums. We saw a famous Raphael painting, The Sistine Madonna, with the two cherubs at the bottom looking up at Mary. It's so pretty. Then we
took a tour of the Opera. It must be a rule that all opera houses are fantastic. I paid two euro to get to take pictures and I'm glad I did. We then went to the Church of Our Lady which was just reopened after renovations from being bombed. It was very pastel-y as Pat would say. We went back to the Zwinger (we had a day pass) to see something Germany is famous for, porcelain. There were some very pretty displays. After that, Pat and I met up with his friend Creed for dinner.
Then we headed to a friend's apartment for a birthday party. It was a socialist themed party (I wore red) so Pat dressed at the Karl Marx head of Chemitz. It was a late night.

Saturday, we kind of slept in...till noon. We got dressed and went to this brunch place. It was fantastic. I had some traditional German food...don't know any names though. Then Pat and I trained it to Berlin. He had stayed in a hostel there before so he took me straight there and we checked in. It was already dark, so we kind of wandered around and then chilled at a cafe and made it an early night.

Sunday morning we checked out and stored our luggage. We were out and about by 9. Oh we saw so much! We started at Alexanderplatz, two churches (almost identical) and a theater. From there we walked to Checkpoint Charlie, a famous crossing between west and east Berlin during the Wall times. It was quite moving to see remains of the wall and know the history and that peace was reached during my lifetime. After a coffee break to warm up, we walked (alot) more. We saw the new Sony Center-amazing architecture. Then we passed a holocaust memorial. This place was amazing, it's hard to describe so please take time to see the photos. Then we walked up the block to Brandenburg gate and walked down 'under the limes' avenue (lined with lime trees!). After a lunch break at this cool Italian restaurant, we went up the Berliner Cathedral. I say up because we got to climb up to the cupola and see the view from the top. Then we went to the crypts and saw important dead people. After that, it was time for culture, so we went into a museum and saw some lovely art. We wandered around a bit more after that, had Indian food for dinner, and then headed to the train station to be early for our trains. I took a night train from Berlin back to Paris. It was a wonderful way to end my week of vacation. Ok, not vacation, travel.

Patrick

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 17:25:00 +0000

**recently updated**

Patrick is visiting me!!! Patrick and I were neighbors freshman year and remained friends throughout college. He is a Fulbright scholar teaching English in Chemnitz (k not sh...oops), Germany. He decided to come visit me in Paris during part of his two-week break. So far we've had a fantastic time! He arrived Friday evening from Brussels. I met him at the trainstation and after dropping his stuff off at home, we went to dinner in the Latin Quarter. From there, we met everyone else at Nanda's (they'd already gone through 5+ bottles of wine/champagne) and headed to rue Mouffetard. Beer Pong Palace was a let down the second time...too many americans, I think word of Paris' official beer pong table got out.

Saturday was a beautiful day. We got up semi-early and did a little bit of shopping at Les Halles, my new favorite rainy-day place. It's several levels of shopping!!! After working up an appetite, we grabbed lunch at a little cafe and had a wonderfully typical rude French waiter. I'm glad Patrick got to experience that day 1. sigh. Anyway, we then headed towards Ile-de-la-Cite. We walked through Saint-Chapelle, the chapel for the original Palace of Paris. It was sunny at that point so the light shining in the stain glass windows was fantastic. From there, we headed to Notre Dame. I convinced Patrick to climb the tower without me one day while I was in class. We were a little tired at that point so we did a typical Parisian thing and sat and had a coffee in the Saint Michel area. It's a good place to people watch. After that, I showed Pat Opera Garnier but we got there right at 4:30 when inside closed to guests. Then we headed to the Arc de Triomphe. We didn't climb up but we did walk around and take photos. I then drug him down the Champs-Elysees. He was very patient while I window-shopped at Cartier :-P At place de la concorde, we grabbed the metro home for dinner and a relaxing evening watching The Office.

Sunday was even more beautiful than Saturday. We got moving a bit slower and didn't leave till 12:30. We took a sack-lunch to Pere Lachaise and hung out there all day!!!! Please look at this album: http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2107715&l=99ca1&id=12600427 We wandered around for about 4 hours till it closed at 5:30.

Did you see the black cat in photo 4? That little bugger jumped out of one of the 'little house thingies' (for lack of a technical word) and scared the crap out of me! Pat and I proceeded to take photos of him but he didn't leave.

From there we headed to the Latin Quarter and had Chinese for dinner. It was fantastic!!! Then we returned home utterly exhausted.

So now that I'm in class the next couple of days, Patrick has to fend for himself in Paris but I think he'll do ok. I don't have class Tuesday morning so we're going to go check out St. Eustache...yet another cathedrale before my afternoon class.

Here's the rest of my photos:
more february (now full)-http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2106048&l=1b326&id=12600427

and

Patrick in Paris!(not full yet) http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2107700&l=04e33&id=12600427

So I realize it's been two weeks but I wanted to finish up writing about Pat's time in Paris! Wednesday morning I didn't have class so we went to St. Eustache and the Pantheon. St Eustache was built between 1532 and 1640. The inside was beautiful! From there, we wandered to the Seine, at a quick lunch. Pat had a croque monsieur...fancy ham n cheese! We then went to the Pantheon which was another church, now famous for its crypt. Famous important people like the Curies, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Emile Zola, Louis Braille, et Jean Rousseau are entombed in the crypt. So that was our wonderful morning. Pat explored Paris on his own the rest of the time but we had a wonderful crepe dinner that night before he had to leave Thursday morning.

to see photos of the rest of our adventures:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2107700&l=04e33&id=12600427

February Song

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 18:34:00 +0000

So February in Paris is a lot like January in Paris-overcast and some rain-yet the sun makes an appearance every once in a while and makes for a nice day. Take today for example...I woke up and it was raining...yet the sun was shining! That wouldn't have happened 2 weeks ago! Granted, last wednesday it looked like this in the morning: but by the afternoon, it was quite pleasant.

So it's been a week of group hanging out:
Wednesday was Samantha's birthday so we had a fantastic dinner at Nanda's.

Friday, we went to a cafe/bar in Rick's neighborhood to enjoy happy hour.

Saturday was such a beautiful day in Paris! It was somewhat cloudy but you could see blue sky. I had an enjoyable walk along the Seine and then played around in the Latin quarter with Rick and Samantha. We all got together for dinner in the Latin quarter at this fantastic Italian restaurant! After dinner, we headed to Nanda's for a little wine and gave Samantha her birthday present.

Sunday was pretty so I opted to be outside again. I hung out with big brother Rick and we had a nice but very windy walk from Bastille to Place de la Concorde. Then we headed up to Montmartre. We walked through Sacre Coeur during mass (oops :-/) but it was so beautiful. There were singing nuns! I wish I knew how to describe it without being cheesy but it really was like being in heaven and hearing angels sing.

So, Paris is a town like no other. Dogs are more cherished than children. I love walking down the street to my metro and seeing all the cute little dogs (in cute little sweaters) AND even men have those cute little girly dogs. They (the dogs not the men) are just so adorable. There was one guy on the metro that was holding his cute pug over his shoulder like a baby. The dog just sat there looking so sad (I love pug faces). I wanted to steal that puppy.

One thing I don't like about Paris is that motorcycles have free reign-road, sidewalk, wherever! Yes, a motorcycle can drive on the sidewalk...it's annoying. They park there too! >:O Plus, they squeeze in and out of traffic lanes. I guess my daddy would love it!

So, being a perfect sports-lover's girlfriend, I've tried to start following European sports. There's a tournament going on now called Six Nations. It's a rugby tournament for Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, France, and Italy. Saturday, Rick, Samantha and I saw the Scotland/Wales game in a Scottish pub....thank god Scotland won. Today, Rick and I caught the France/Ireland game in an Irish pub. We were uncertain of who to cheer for being in an Irish pub in France so we waited and followed the crowd. France won in the last minute and it was an exciting game. I think the pub was a mixed crowed because there were cheers going on all the time. So the term touchdown in American football comes from rugby. To score in rugby, you actually have to touch the ball down in the endzone. Then the additional point kick is from where you touched it down, not the center of the field like in football. Cool huh!?

So I've been here over a month now and it's still hard to believe that I'm living in Paris. Being in class 9-5 sucks because we miss things being open and by the end of class we're exhausted and just want to go home. On the weekends, I try to take things in-visit museums, walk around and enjoy the town. I really want to make Paris my home and not feel like an outsider wherever I am. One thing is for sure...I love this city!

february photos:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2106031&l=3837c&id=12600427

and

http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2106048&l=1b326&id=12600427

A thousand beautiful things

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 23:24:00 +0000

What a fantastic weekend in Paris!!!!!! It was sunny, not one, but BOTH days!!! It was great. So I started off the weekend lamely. I stayed home Friday and spent about 9 euro at the laundromat. Oh well! Saturday, I woke up pretty late (I deserved it!) and met up with Jill and Rick at Musee d'Orsay. We met up at a cafe-Les Deux Musees-and had a coffee before going in. This building is awesome. Formerly a train station, it was turned into a museum in 1986. It houses famous paintings from the period of 1848-1914. We wandered around for about three hours before meeting up at the cafe again. I saw some of my favorites-Degas, Monet, Renoir-but I also found a new favorite: Camille Pissarro. His (oops) landscapes are so beautiful and rival those of Monet.

renoir: country dance and city dance

degas: the star

monet: woman on a hill with an umbrella (facing right and facing left)

Saturday night, I met up with Emily, Josh, and Kristen for a drink at a cafe up in Montmartre. We sat outside under a heat lamp and enjoyed the jazz and the atmosphere. It was a nice evening.

Sunday, I slept in again...I stay up too late! I decided that since it was a gorgeous day, I wanted to be outside! So I headed to the end of line one on the east side of town and visited Chateau de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes. What a beautiful area!!! The chateau was built where a hunting lodge used to be when the woods became royal in 1037. The castle eventually became one of the court's residences and a center of government.

The woods the belong to the chateau are amazing. There are four different lakes, a cemetery, a zoo, a farm, a racecourse for horses, and a soccer park. There were so many people out to enjoy the weather. People were pushing babies along, little kids were riding bikes, others were out jogging. It was wonderful to just be out and enjoying nature. Because the place is so big, I decided to head to lake Minimes since it was closer on the map and I wasn't sure of distances. I hope to go back another weekend to explore more!

more photos:
musee d'orsay (includes pics of my apt):
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2104196&l=a115e&id=12600427

vincennes (chateau et bois):
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2104361&l=9c6e3&id=12600427

my famous classmates in the portuguese track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NlyrxeW800

Letter in the Mail

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 22:16:00 +0000

So...here's a general complaint. I thought the post office in Columbia sucked. I thought they were the most incompetent people in the world. Why at the end of a work day are only two counters open when everyone is stopping by? Well apparently, this isn't a Columbia thing, a South Carolina thing, a southern thing, or even an American thing. There must be some rule in the Post Offices of the World Handbook that states: "at the end of the day, only two people shall work the counter; others may peak out at the line and be seen by those waiting but make no attempt to help them." ***sigh*** Anyway, I just thought I'd share with you...post offices around the world unite and suck!!

second album of birthday:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2103311&l=b932d&id=12600427

Riding on a Railroad

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:17:00 +0000

Today we went to Brussels! Getting up at 5:30 sucked but it had to be done. I was somewhat pissy right before we left because I was the only student who didn't already have his/her ticket from Josiane because she didn't find me Friday at the forum. I was afraid I wouldn't get to go! Anyway, once we were off, I realized how much I love train rides...you can see the countryside and get where you need to go fast. Of course it was dark most of the way there and the whole way back. As we were arriving, the sun was coming up and it looked really cool with all of the fog. So we got to Brussels and took the metro to the Paris Chamber of Commerce in Brussels. There, we learned a little bit about the EU and its purpose. After that, we hopped the metro again to go the Charlemagne building and learned about the WTO and EU/USA relations. From there, we headed to the European Parliament. We heard a presentation and tour. That room is the most beautiful room in the world. I wish I could work there!

So after a fact-filled morning, we had a long lunch at Il Pasticio (why we ate Italian, I dunno). It was a great little place though! Then we walked through town past the Palais Royal. This beautiful building houses the King's office. Belgium is a kingdom so there is still a royal family. Across the street is the Parc de Bruxelles. It wasn't so great in January but I bet in the spring it's gorgeous!!! We wandered through town to the Grand-Place where town hall is located. This square has the most beautiful architecture in the world. These buildings are fantastic! Then we did the normal touristy stuff.

We found the Mannekin Pis. This is a famous statue of a boy peeing. I bought a magnet :-)

After, we went to the bar Delirium which serves over 2000 beers! It was a cool little place to hang out. I tried a belgian beer called Sara but I just don't like beer! We ended the trip with belgian waffles!!! yummy!!!!!! Though I must admit I prefer crepes.
Josh, Antonia, and me

facebook albums of brussels:
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2103320&l=81430&id=12600427
and
http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2103325&l=66adb&id=12600427

Home Again

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:12:00 +0000

Peter called me during class....don't worry, my phone was on silent. The message he left was to make sure it was ok to go by in the afternoon so the electricity could be turned on. Um, of course it is ok!! So I was able to move out of Nanday's Monday evening and get back to my place. So now I'm all settled in. Today, after returning from Brussels, I bit the bullet and called the France Telecom help line to get my internet going. This is my first blog entry written and posted from home!!! Yay!!!!!!!! Pictures to follow!

Light My Candle

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 06:04:00 +0000

So, after a long day of make-up and heels (blah), I finish moving all of my stuff to my new apartment. Oh, happy day!!!! Except, NOT. I walk in and try to turn on my light to no avail. I HAVE NO ELECTRICITY!!!!!!!!!!! After freaking out...I ask a random neighbor (yeah, I talked to a stranger...I was freaking out-hence the blog title-and didn't think) and he helped me out by calling the electricity company and figuring out what was wrong. There's nothing wrong with my electricity, there's just no contract for my room. That doesn't make sense though cuz I had taken a load over in the morning before the career fair and there was electricity. I don't understand. I called Peter the landlord but he's in Italy until Sunday. He had a friend calling today (Saturday) but said he wasn't getting through on their line. So I crashed at Nanda's Friday night and then did some fantastic retail therapy today which surprisingly helped. I was hysterical last night...walking down the street bawling. Today was better and I realize that it's not too much of a big deal. Peter even offered to pay for a hotel but there's no point in wasting the money when everyone has offered to let me crash with them. In a week this'll be a funny story.

Career Day

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 19:10:00 +0000

So Friday we went to a career fair instead of having class. There were 140 companies there, and it was a zoo! I talked to some banks-Royal Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of France, Societe Generale-and notable businesses like McKinsey and Co and Bain and Co and Google. It was a good two hours, but by the end my feet HURT. Most of the companies want us to apply on line anyway so once I get internet I'll flip through the huge booklet and just apply and see what happens. Wish me luck!

World Inside My Head

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 18:27:00 +0000

So...I know I often complain about the way things are here or about missing things at home so I thought I'd make a list of the good and the bad...

Things I like in France:
1) coconut products: I love the scent and taste of coconut. I can never find anything in the states (besides almond joy and mounds). Here, I have coconut body wash (yum) and Pims cookies in a coconut flavor!
2) monuments: Walking down the street, you can turn the corner and see a beautiful building or monument.
3) pain au chocolat: bread and chocolate together is acceptable
4) flowers: There are flower shops on every corner practically!
5) Latin Quarter: restaurants, bookstores, and the middle ages (these are a few of my favorite things)
6) ads in the metro (aka Moliere and the photo below)

7) the fact that nutella and mustard come in cool little glass jars that you can clean and use as drinking glasses
8) month-long super sales!!!
9) sidewalk crepe vendors!!! yum!!!
10) French people who patiently wait while I try to get something out in French...better yet, French people who let me speak in French and they try in English so we're both struggling and embarrassed.

Things I don't like in Paris
1) the metro smells bad...like sewer bad
2) I don't like crowds and they are everywhere in France.
3) it takes forever to get anywhere in the metro
4) people make out everywhere!!!! city of love my foot...more like city of lust!
5) coke costs so much!!! then again...maybe I can kill the addiction (hmmm)

Things I miss in the states:
1) driving: When I get back, I want to drive with the windows down and the sun blaring.
2) Peanut butter: I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich sooooo bad.
3) MOES: I want to be welcomed!
4) ice in drinks!
5) Target
6) 'mexican' food (besides Moes)
7) having an oven to cook in (not that I cook that much)
8) hugs...weird I know but I don't really hug anyone here and I miss that!

So I realized I never told you what classes I'm taking (because my momma and daddy keep asking):
1. Négociation/Argumentation/Marketing-so far we've learned how to make a phone call and how to negociate
2. Français des Affairs (French Business)-we've read articles about French entrepreneurs and learned some vocab
3. Langue et Civilisation-what it sounds like, the language and civilization....learning some history and vocabulary
4. Ecrits Professionnels-haven't done much yet in 2 classes but I know what I don't know....grammar!
5. Sociologie des Organisations-again, what it sounds like, sociology of business, pretty much the same as class #2
6. Etudes des Cas-case studies...we read a case and then talk about it in half French/half English
7. Initation à la micro-économie-economic theory....lots of reading
8. Prise de parole en public-we don't have this for awhile but from the name (public speaking), I'm gonna have to speak in front of people :-/

then we have some 'travaux en groupe' which is glorified study hall, preparation au stage (internship prep...I have no idea what this means), and espace rendez-vous stage (which I think is planned time to have interviews which is silly because the company chooses the interview time). Basically, they didn't want us to have free time to have fun.

snow!!!!

Trip Around the Sun

gabriellisara@gmail.com (Sara) — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 11:55:00 +0000

Drew sent me the most beautiful flowers for my birthday! They were delivered Saturday morning in a box. It was like getting to open a present! According to Nanda, the best flowers come in boxes ;-) Forty roses in red, white, pink, cream with pink tips (my favorite!), and peach/orange were wrapped up in a cool gel pack in a white bucket with FLOWERS printed on the side. They are gorgeous! I want my bridal bouquet to look like that! So now my drab residence room is all cheery. Thank you Drew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday was a nasty day so we didn’t get to do much but I decided it was worth it to pay ten euros to have two hours of internet at the residence. I had a wonderful conversation with Drew and my parents. Speaking of internet…I went with my landlord Saturday morning to get that set up for the apartment…so look for me online a lot in the near future!! With that worry checked off my list, I can now find an internship.

So Sunday was my actual birthday…the big 23…ha, I’m the baby of this group. Anyway, I woke up 9ish because of those **** Algerians talking in the hall again but I rolled over and didn’t get up till ten. I did my hw really fast (blah) and showered. Jamie, Samantha, and I went to Notre Dame to climb the tower because it was a beautiful day!!!!!
Puffy white clouds against a gorgeous blue sky. I had to put on my sunglasses!!! It was awesome to be on top of the bell towers. I took amazing photos and used my video camera like a tourist :-P But hey, it was an early birthday present so it made sense to use it on my birthday!

Nanda and Emily met us at the bottom and we walked through to see the windows while it was sunny to light them up. When we left, Jill and Diana met us outside but it had gotten colder and overcast so we went to a café for hot chocolate to warm up. We found this great little brasserie but while we were there it rained! :’( Mom called while I was in there though so I got to talk to momma and daddy! By the time we left it had finished raining though it was considerably cooler. We walked through the Latin Quarter to make reservations for dinner and then did some shopping. I found two beautiful silk ‘sweaters’ on sale for a total of 34 euro ($50ish). At another store, I found a cute pair of black flats. So I treated myself.

At 7, the whole group met up for dinner at Creperie de Cluny. I had a kir royal, a ham crepe, and the best dessert crepe in the world: banana, coconut, walnuts, and chocolate. It was fantastic. The waitress brought it out with sparklers on it for my birthday and everyone sang. They were so great. And the whole group bought me a Longchamp bag!!! I own a Longchamp bag :-D It is so great!!!!!!!! It ended up being a fantastic birthday. I wouldn’t mind having all my birthdays in Paris…as long as Drew is there for the rest of them.

third album on facebook: http://scarolina.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2101482&l=d3632&id=12600427

longchamp: http://longchamp.com/en/