tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87972165582352173212024-02-21T08:16:56.768-08:00donnez-moi un break'and above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. those who don't believe in magic will never find it.' -roald dahlklvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-14447348169763292452012-05-28T19:26:00.000-07:002012-05-28T19:26:29.041-07:00paddle board<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">just spent my second long weekend in a row at one of my very favorite places: my family's lake house. i shut my brain off from work and made it my mission to relax for 3 whole days. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">activities for the weekend included: sitting on the porch, paddle board yoga on the lake, snuggling with the puppies, laying on the dock, flicking ants away, running, regular yoga, walks with my parents, and sleeping in. </span></div>
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happy memorial day! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOEMCDCjrFMtW2U1fn8LeUjB_-gyIB0AamraKdloYDRXNlB5NDiF7VrKKqHExgv8Kb0wsvy0XexsI1VKV87uLCHjso0hhvPdjK-ssFM6NOcsoDskqRHwOPzgmzMPt36zRw9BlJ4R5-do4/s1600/IMG_2393.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOEMCDCjrFMtW2U1fn8LeUjB_-gyIB0AamraKdloYDRXNlB5NDiF7VrKKqHExgv8Kb0wsvy0XexsI1VKV87uLCHjso0hhvPdjK-ssFM6NOcsoDskqRHwOPzgmzMPt36zRw9BlJ4R5-do4/s320/IMG_2393.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-15574541730217046312012-05-16T22:10:00.000-07:002012-05-16T22:10:00.906-07:00eh?after 18 glorious days back in the united states of americuhhhhhhh i'm packing my bags again. figured i'd visit the hat of the best country in the world. it's been a while since my last visit and i'm going to an entirely different province this time (i am SO worldly.)<br />
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in addition to going to the largest mall in north america, i'm hoping to spot a mounty, a hockey player or two, and some moose. can't wait to go oot and aboot and have some beers.klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-53336774066047120312012-04-15T14:00:00.000-07:002012-04-15T14:02:36.995-07:00one last stop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">i officially have one week left in my teaching contract. i am amazed at how fast the time has flown by, especially these last few months. i can't even begin to describe how incredible this experience has been. i have a lot of mixed emotions about coming home; i'm so excited to see friends and family and start new adventures, but at the same time i'm sad my adventure here is ending. i'll no longer be able to up and go to paris or amsterdam for the weekend, i won't be able to take the train whenever and wherever i want, i won't have 2 week vacations every other month, and i won't be able to walk to a patisserie and get a fresh baguette whenever my little heart desires. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">i do have one more european adventure before coming home: croatia. my itinerary is as follows (roughly). </span></div>
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i'll be starting in dubrovnik, skipping korcula and heading straight to hvar, then finishing the week in split. adventure starts on the 21st and lasts until the 28th. ah, the dalmatian islands, cannot wait. i'll be back in lille on the 29th to get all of my luggage and then am heading to paris for the last time. </div>
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happy vacationing!</div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-49899942750665957312012-04-06T03:07:00.000-07:002012-04-06T07:35:45.308-07:00cruisin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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amsterdam. the place that made me feel like a kid again and want to give the world a hug.</div>
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the canals were so beautiful, the city was made for bikes, there was amazing food, incredible museums; it was vibrant in every way. </div>
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if you're wondering what an incredible day is like, i'll tell you. we rented bikes. awesome bikes. cruisers. i will most certainly be investing in one in the near future.</div>
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we rode for less than 5 minutes before finding a flower market. so pretty; tulips in every color. </div>
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we stumbled across a cheese shop (or two.) who knew holland had such amazing cheese? flavored gouda (pesto, garlic, and red pepper to name a few) and herbed goat cheeses. incredible mid-morning snack. </div>
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post cheese coma, we continued on our bikes. we we having so much fun just riding around the streets along the canals. we must have gone all over the city. we took the typical touristy picture next to the <i>i am</i>sterdam statue before going to the van gogh museum. </div>
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the most expensive museum i've been to in europe, but it was worth it. van gogh was an incredible artist. i could have stared at my favorite paintings for hours. if there was any confusion before as to who my favorite artist is, there is no confusion now..vinny wins.<br />
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we finished our afternoon with happy hour at our hostel, had amazing thai food for dinner, then wrapped up our day at a coffee shop in the red light district. </div>
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on sunday we went to the anne frank house. something i'm so glad i got to experience. listening to and reading exerts from her diary, seeing pictures from her life, hearing accounts from the survivors that knew her, you walk through all of the rooms in the house where she and her family hid before they were betrayed during the holocaust. incredibly moving and terribly sad.</div>
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go to amsterdam. even the street art is beautiful:<br />
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leaving tomorrow with luli, kiley, and joe--<br />
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happy happy happy weekend!<br />
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<br /><br />klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-34511188254394767872012-03-20T09:21:00.000-07:002012-03-20T09:23:36.688-07:00haiku<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">everything's sunny</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">birds go chirpity chirp chirp</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">the sky is bluer</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">sun i really love</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">happiest must be the earth</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">happy spring! </span>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-21634990364385426252012-03-18T10:35:00.001-07:002012-03-18T15:04:20.892-07:00that happened.istanbul/not constantinople. after the <a href="http://klvolker.blogspot.fr/2012/03/rocky-road-not-ice-cream.html">nightmare</a> getting there, it was amazing. so much culture. the mosques, the bazaars, the food, the language, everything opened my eyes to something new.<br />
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there were mosques around every corner. my favorite? the blue mosque:<br />
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it also happens to be one of the only ones we actually went into. my first time hearing the call to prayer was one of the strangest things i've experienced. over megaphones, every mosque calls the people to prayer, 5 times a day. chants from the quran filled the streets.<br />
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more things that filled the streets? street food vendors. like this guy selling 'simit' (round bread covered in sesame seeds):<br />
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stands were all over the place selling all kinds of food; simit, roasted chestnuts, boiled and roasted corn, pickled vegetables (gross), and halka (similar to churros). kebabs are also considered street food, and there were kebab 'stands' everyywherrreee. walking through one of the many many markets, luli and i stumbled on this little place:</div>
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there was a decent line of turks, so we figured it was a good idea. for 2 turkish lira, we got the most amazing sandwich i've had in a long long time. spicy deliciousness. in addition to to street food being everywhere, there was also baklava all over the place. </div>
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there are very few words to describe how good it was. after sicily and istanbul, i have a new found love for things with pistacchio. i'm pretty positive i had at least one piece of baklava every day we were there. it never got old, just stayed flaky and awesome. </div>
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i became obsessed with multiple things while we were there...</div>
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evil eyes. which, despite their name, are a symbol for protection.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvc8ipoQbe2PpX2VByACsUzkevkDS3ehkvcX_xoTGc6CaMfKs7MaRW3i430WOSQNVcreHdj_Fs-szAKvTtTeV5vQP_Zs-VlM4mEXFwNmhVp6dZsLJ66MrCP_daDHXpGUOuD1_yh8dtFY/s1600/IMG_2561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvc8ipoQbe2PpX2VByACsUzkevkDS3ehkvcX_xoTGc6CaMfKs7MaRW3i430WOSQNVcreHdj_Fs-szAKvTtTeV5vQP_Zs-VlM4mEXFwNmhVp6dZsLJ66MrCP_daDHXpGUOuD1_yh8dtFY/s320/IMG_2561.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
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tiles. so ornate. so pretty. </div>
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apple tea and turkish tea. we were given apple tea practically every time we walked into a store and were served turkish tea every afternoon when we got back to our hostels. i just love tea...so, job well done, turkey. </div>
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probably one of the best things about istanbul were the markets. the grand bazaar and the spice bazaar are two of the most popular, but there were so many others that oftentimes felt like little hidden secrets. </div>
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the grand bazaar. grand indeed. huge and intimidating. also, be prepared to haggle prices down; the vendors are extremely pushy and try to sell things to you for at least 50% more than what things are actually worth. needless to say i didn't buy a single thing there, i hate being harassed and hit on when i shop. a sight to see, but not the place for me. </div>
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the spice market on the other hand was much less crowded, and much more calm. they had everything. spices (duh), tea, honey, plants, mass amounts of turkish delights, and more. the colors were beautiful. </div>
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i think of all the markets we went to, my favorite was the arasta bazaar. they had the most incredible jewelry, and i found these old maps:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRiSIVPCWOxz2qKcfCKbwueo8ccPy-Fst6XvmjuKOVQRamtikSyAeyGLdKqLaK9KxENcy9m1zp365eLWAyCD9AvGU9H0eR2Keq1RWYoZpZw2BDCvLUoKUeAjS-ON5k3ZpjBg3cFOTtRs/s1600/IMG_2698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvRiSIVPCWOxz2qKcfCKbwueo8ccPy-Fst6XvmjuKOVQRamtikSyAeyGLdKqLaK9KxENcy9m1zp365eLWAyCD9AvGU9H0eR2Keq1RWYoZpZw2BDCvLUoKUeAjS-ON5k3ZpjBg3cFOTtRs/s320/IMG_2698.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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everything was really pricey, so again, no purchases; but everything was awfully nice to look at. it was also the smallest, easiest to manage bazaar we found and was right in the heart of sultanhamet, perfect. </div>
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the only market we went to that i bought anything was one we stumbled upon after walking around an area of the city known as eminönü:</div>
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i found a few cheap crafty things that i couldn't pass by. i'm convinced tourists don't really know this bazaar exists, we hardly saw anyone other than turks, and no one there spoke english. we also found amazingly delicious freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. since the man working at the stand spoke no english, we had to play charades to get it, but it was well worth looking like fools. </div>
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we went on a boat tour of the bosphorus and golden horn. it was freezing, but the sultans palaces that we got to see along the sea were incredible. </div>
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another incredible thing we got to see. whirling dervishes. mesmerizing.</div>
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my favorite part of the whole trip was probably the hamami we went to. a traditional turkish bath. it is probably also one of the most awkward things i've ever experienced. once i got past the naked self consciousness, it was blissful. i was scrubbed and exfoliated raw, bathed head to toe, massaged, and shampooed all by a turkish woman who's only english words were 'lady,' 'turn,' and 'douche' (which she used in the french sense, meaning shower). i got to sit in a sauna and a steam room, and swim in a cold pool. i hardly remember a time i have ever been so relaxed. i would go to one every week if i could.</div>
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istanbul was, in a word, beautiful. more words to describe our week: bohemian, spicy, aladdin, elephants, hookah, tea, homemade wine, sparkling, pushy, charlie, lamps, angels, stray cats, genie pants, magic carpets, unique, blissful.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubf59furgXD8MairJvIeIH7WoX7aufUmB3wW3seHYssPnSf3hhJVqxFHfosXLOtK9tRvrihiOUx_Bv8HZeqaD59LiDG2PneFDR-D08HdSxYgp0mFhMlBKVGSFoYm7KwwcF9GhIOGZq9M/s1600/IMG_2554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubf59furgXD8MairJvIeIH7WoX7aufUmB3wW3seHYssPnSf3hhJVqxFHfosXLOtK9tRvrihiOUx_Bv8HZeqaD59LiDG2PneFDR-D08HdSxYgp0mFhMlBKVGSFoYm7KwwcF9GhIOGZq9M/s320/IMG_2554.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-72804407806014155072012-03-16T15:04:00.000-07:002012-03-16T15:04:19.420-07:00rocky road (not the ice cream)<div>
my trip to istanbul started off rocky (understatement.) </div>
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due to inclement weather, all trains to brussels from lille were canceled the morning of our flight. we wanted to take the bus but, for some reason, eurolines had no buses that day. no bus, no trains. so luli and i took the metro to a border town. then a bus to another town in belgium to try to take a train from there, thinking it'd be close. wrong. we ended up having to take a cab. holy expensive. </div>
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our cab driver (bless his heart) was driving as fast as he possibly could (well over the 90kmh limit) to try to get us to the airport on time. our flight started boarding at 1:15. we got to the airport at 1:25. our flight was leaving at 1:45. we got to security at 1:30. we ran. we were the last people on the plane. all we could do was laugh. if i wasn't laughing i would have most certainly been crying. the crying set in later when luli and i were discussing how much packets of powdered soup cost because that was going to be all we could afford to eat when we got back to france. </div>
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luckily for us the exchange rate was definitely in our favor once we got to turkey.</div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-4487168005026615302012-03-05T05:09:00.000-08:002012-03-05T08:02:21.304-08:00it's amazing!i'm just back from my trip to catania. it was so amazing. the sea was beautiful. i spent the night in belgium on monday to catch an early flight on tuesday morning. let's talk about how much i enjoy waking up at 4am. actually, no, let's not, because i HATE it and would like to forget it ever happened. mine and luli's 7:15a ryanair flight to lamezia-terme was right on time. we got to italy, promptly ate pizza, then took a 5 hour train to catania. our train went right along the coast the whole time, took a ferry, and got in at around 5:30p. our hosts for the week, peppe and ciccio, came to pick us up from the station and we drove out to their house in capo molini.<br />
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it was dark when we got there, but their house was right near the water (incredible) and came with a cat (gross). we went for pizza round 2 for dinner around 10 (they eat dinner incredibly late in sicily) and then went back to our new home for the week to catch up on sleep.<br />
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on wednesday we got up, marveled at the sea, and went in to a neighboring town, acireale, for breakfast. we had granita (like gelato, but made with water) and brioche. it was delicious...as was everything we ate the whole time we were there. we went for a drive through another town right on the water, giardini naxos, to get to taormina, a town on the side of a mountain overlooking the sea. we walked around the deserted town and it was so adorable, cobble stone roads, screaming italy. we continued our drive further up the mountain to castelmola, yet another adorable little town with an old castle sitting right on top. we had some local wine, took a baby hike up to the ruins and basked in the sun.<br />
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for dinner, ciccio and peppe invited some friends over and we had fresh pasta with a pistacchio pesto sauce and a bajillion other yummy things. seriously can't get enough of the food.<br />
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thursday: to add to my list of the coolest things i've done in my whole life, we decided to go skiing on mt etna. skiing. on an active volcano. with a panoramic view of the mediterranean. amazing. it was a tiny little mountain, but it was cheap, and the view was...amazing. i got to collect lava rocks on the way down the mountain and then we went and had some kind of pizza thing and gelato for lunch. amazing. for dinner we went into catania and ate at a street side place. luli and i were suckered in to trying horse meat for the first (and last) time. gross. but everything else we had was...amazing.<br />
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on friday morning we got up and decided to walk down to the sea. no beach, just huge lava rocks...but the perfect place for a nap in the sun. the rest of my day was destroyed by a killer migraine, so i slept, slept, and slept some more...until saturday.<br />
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in the morning we took another nap on the lava rocks then went into catania to walk around. we went to the open air market, saw the biggest tuna fish of life, and found one of the only things i knew about catania: the elephant statue. made of lava. I LOVE. we cooked a big thank you dinner for our hosts that night and took one last trip down to the rocks to say goodbye to the sea.<br />
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on our train ride out of town on sunday morning we got to see etna explode--tons of smoke, lava coming down the side. amazing (favorite descriptive word.)<br />
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such an...amazing! week. hopefully my tan sticks around for a little bit. doubtful, but i can dream. i'll also be dreaming about this for quite some time:<br />
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tomorrow: istanbul (not constantinople)! happy vacation!klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-86747133397386593542012-02-25T05:45:00.000-08:002012-02-25T05:45:41.591-08:00up, up, and awayone thing i'll miss about living in france and working for the french government: 2 week vacations every other month. i'm able to travel, travel, and travel some more.<br />
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on monday i'm heading to charleroi, belgium to catch an outrageously early flight on tuesday morning. i'm going here:<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(http://www.pickatrail.com/jupiter/location/europe/italy/catania.html)</span></div>
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catania, italy. 6 days of the mediterranean sunshine. pure heaven. as if i don't usually have enough time for rest and relaxation, i'm going to get more of it. </div>
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my biggest problem in preparing for this trip is trying to figure out what to pack and having my backpack weigh less than 10kg (about 22lbs). i've always been terrible at packing a bag. and to put a weight limit like that on it? i'm screwed...thank you, ryan air. i have a feeling i'm going to look like the michelin man going through security at the airport. </div>
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i suppose it's not a bad price to pay for such a cheap flight to somewhere so beautiful. </div>
<br />klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-46428824577350484402012-02-22T12:38:00.000-08:002012-02-22T12:39:35.260-08:00is that a boy or a girl?this past weekend i experienced french carnaval. boys dressed up as girls, confetti everywhere, dead fish being thrown from windows, and of course, beer and fries.<br />
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my roommates and i took a day trip to dunkerque on sunday for the experience..we heard it was something we shouldn't miss out on. i wore my green pants to try my hardest to fit in without a costume..it didn't work. we stuck out like sore thumbs. the train ride itself was nuts. every stop they had to add more cars to accomodate all the drunk frenchies dressed like girls. i've never seen so many men wearing tights and lipstick. </div>
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we got there and finding the center of town was easy enough: follow the people. it was so crowded. we got fries and walked around. a little girl came up to me, gave me the twice over, then threw confetti at me. only me. i guess she liked my pants? </div>
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we ended the afternoon in front of the hotel de ville to watch the mayor throw dead herrings wrapped up in plastic out of the window. i still don't know the meaning behind this, but we ran as soon as we realized people unwrap them and proceed to throw them at each other. i almost got one rubbed in my face, but being small has it's perks; i just ducked behind people while we were trying to push our way out of the crowd. </div>
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the fish throwing madness: </div>
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part of the confetti/feather aftermath:</div>
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happy carnaval!</div>
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<br /></div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-87292236665814472752012-02-16T16:24:00.000-08:002012-02-21T15:07:56.339-08:00where to?'a lot of moving, a lot of rolling, a lot of driving, a lot of strolling. a lot of leaving here, arriving there. trying to go just about everywhere. a lot of thinking about where i'm going next.' -the avett brothers<br />
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so many trips coming up! i figured i'd let you in on my super (not so) secret plans..<br />
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planned:<br />
dunkerque, france on february 19th<br />
sicily, italy on february 28th for a week<br />
istanbul, turkey on march 6th for a week<br />
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planning:<br />
somewhere to try to see the northern lights or edinburgh, scotland (march)<br />
london, england (march)<br />
working on an organic farm somewhere in france (march or april)<br />
amsterdam, netherlands (april)<br />
dubrovnik, split, and zadar croatia (april)<br />
ibiza, spain (april)<br />
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i'll be gone practically every weekend until i'm back home. i'll be back in the great state of north carolina in less than three short months--i can't believe it. i'm so looking forward to being in charlotte again but am thrilled about all the trips i'm about to take. here's to happy travels!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidNNiLhtg9RkkDzoqzxUK9b1nYSrNzDbJpEi7vK6TpXwQkLNSk73-KPc3mMr9HsZp3eKQlXdNaOhIQUjeh-5uWRCOaC_d3J70cexO_asWWFceB6WatkMPag2qUPztnFa4EjnRxMJ9RgYo/s1600/IMG_2124_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidNNiLhtg9RkkDzoqzxUK9b1nYSrNzDbJpEi7vK6TpXwQkLNSk73-KPc3mMr9HsZp3eKQlXdNaOhIQUjeh-5uWRCOaC_d3J70cexO_asWWFceB6WatkMPag2qUPztnFa4EjnRxMJ9RgYo/s320/IMG_2124_2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-44629515746824510752012-02-15T05:01:00.000-08:002012-02-15T08:25:37.398-08:00me, i play<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">in honor of valentines day and adorable things, i found this video. i love. i love polaroids. i love fun. i love things that spread happiness. i love love. </span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/uAXf5Lwb8lg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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i also LOVE this song. by brigitte bardot, called 'moi je joue.' it's so playful (and playing is one of my <span style="font-family: inherit;">favorite things.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">'moi je joue. moi je joue à joue contre joue. je veux jouer à joue contre vous. mais vous, le voulez-vous? de tout coeur, je veux gagner ce coeur à coeur. vous connaissez mon jeu par coeur..alors défendez-vous.'</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">meaning:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">'me, i play. me, i play cheek-to-cheek. i want to play taking aim at you. but you, do you want to? with all my heart, i want to win this heart-to-heart. you know my game by heart...so defend yourself.'</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">too cute. happy (belated) valentines day lovebirds. </span></span></div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-12843341454600031172012-02-08T02:39:00.000-08:002012-02-08T02:39:54.304-08:00open up your heart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">this song is so fun. perfect for champagne wednesday! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/elyk9MBY72U?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-28244477671245736512012-02-03T16:49:00.000-08:002012-02-08T02:55:26.048-08:00happy winter?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">it started...almost as if punxutawney phil really is a meterologist (or god.) winter has arrived in the north of france. i thought i wasn't happy about it. the wind turned cold and--already being in the warm weather mindset--i was PISSED. i was ready for spring and summer and all that comes with it. then, while i was lying in my bed watching my new tv obsession (amc's the killing,) it started to snow. it was so pretty. i love the snow. because it's been so cold it started sticking immediately. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">i walked to the train station, caught a few snowflakes on my tongue, and was just so content. i'm so intrigued by the calm that comes with snow. everything seemed so still, so slow, so perfect. it kept snowing and snowing and snowing. i went to ashtanga and when i came out there were inches covering the ground. then, walking to the metro, i fell and busted my ass. thanks phil. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">i decided this season can only stick around if it keeps snowing. happy winter.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images2.layoutsparks.com/1/186351/brown-christmas-snow-fall.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://images2.layoutsparks.com/1/186351/brown-christmas-snow-fall.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(image from google)</span></div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-57022493014297401802012-02-01T03:39:00.000-08:002012-02-03T18:24:11.848-08:00champagne wednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">happy wednesday! deciding i don't need any particular reason to celebrate, i instituted champagne wednesday with my roommates. why? well...why not? there isn't always rhyme to my reason.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">i encourage everyone to find a little bliss and happiness on this humpiest day (in any way you can.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">santé!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6tzwnzBTN-m3Yu6G608_c-5C8KHkYItSgLM9uSnsWW0RzSELjA0-ffwshXCKpQWCb5QP-pnxddCTOUre26u0slt724_iQN3-JoV1q-evY6t_4hxmVZBZVsZ0TwnNu1BtdCuhiHE0chXc/s1600/friends-champagne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6tzwnzBTN-m3Yu6G608_c-5C8KHkYItSgLM9uSnsWW0RzSELjA0-ffwshXCKpQWCb5QP-pnxddCTOUre26u0slt724_iQN3-JoV1q-evY6t_4hxmVZBZVsZ0TwnNu1BtdCuhiHE0chXc/s1600/friends-champagne.jpg" /></a></div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-75455149976208302522012-01-29T12:02:00.000-08:002012-02-16T17:18:43.407-08:00chirping<div style="text-align: justify;">
just got back from a lovely weekend trip. i decided to meet up with some people i met in prague. with a little coaxing from my best friend from home i booked my ticket to paris for a few nights. in the wise words of audrey hepburn: "paris is always a good idea." it was fantastic. the weather was great. a bit dreary when i got in on thursday afternoon, but friday was beautiful and the rain held out until i got on the train yesterday afternoon to come back to armentières.</div>
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i've found a new friend in champagne and decided it's appropriate for any (and all) occasion. after going to the louvre and notre dame, we picked up a few bottles and took them to the eiffel tower to wait for it to light up. i never get sick of seeing it sparkle.</div>
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on friday we went back to the eiffel tower and went for a little skate. my new friends are hockey players and were convinced they were going to die from skating on such dull skates with toe picks, but somehow we all made it out alive. we did almost have a man down after walking up the stairs (he was 'cut like a bag of milk' as scott chirped) but we survived. for some reason i really enjoy taking the stairs all the way up--makes me feel like i accomplished something.</div>
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i learned some very catching canadian lingo, heard 'eh' more than i ever have, tried poutine for the first time (and liked it), and even got to have canadian beer. successful weekend. now if only all of my weekends could be like that.</div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-89527204763204844052012-01-25T15:40:00.000-08:002012-01-25T15:40:19.690-08:00to the city of lights--<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1b2Wgyds_V7b1V2nELP0-0LebBITzWoEI61TYL1wcZShZXS2FkAw4CFJti8Sv8mpjZeE3JO60sfXvXOhO2qMzsw7NXZ4oz6frttepdTHKsHhCOmsonLPlRrOcEa3N1HX1grmGXbfQFEA/s1600/IMG_1434_3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1b2Wgyds_V7b1V2nELP0-0LebBITzWoEI61TYL1wcZShZXS2FkAw4CFJti8Sv8mpjZeE3JO60sfXvXOhO2qMzsw7NXZ4oz6frttepdTHKsHhCOmsonLPlRrOcEa3N1HX1grmGXbfQFEA/s320/IMG_1434_3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">figured i'd jaunt off to paris tomorrow--happy weekend!</div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-49487709320356640142012-01-25T09:47:00.000-08:002012-02-15T05:02:23.554-08:00falling in love too much.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">i have a problem. i love too many places. i love paris, i love lille, i love bruges, i love bordeaux, and now? now i love prague, too. i went for just a quick weekend trip with my closest girlfriend here and we had such an amazing time. i took my first low-cost flight through easy jet (and yes, it was so easy) and made my way to eastern europe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">i had a few signs of lust before i realized it was love. first, the sunset. i only saw it for a few minutes before getting to the metro, but it's been quite some time since i've seen something so beautiful. second, how clean and quiet the metro was. no homeless people begging for money, no smell of bodily functions, just the hush of people moving around. third, the single file lines on the escalator. it's incredible. people actually ride the escalators in one line on the far right so people in a hurry can pass on the left.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">i was still lusting on the metro listening to the language. we got off and walked through wenceslas squar<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">e. the national museum is at one end and in front of it sits a statue of saint wenceslas. the first post-communist president (v</span></span><em style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; line-height: 16px;">á</em><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">clav havel) passed away around christmas time and so there was a memorial there for him. candles and flowers were everywhere--it was lovely.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">i was lusting some more over an espresso learning some basic phrases to (hopefully) help us get by for the weekend. our host was very patient, which is terribly important when 'learning' a language that literally sounds nothing like the two that you already know.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">the first signs of love came soon after. we saw the astrological clock in the old town square then walked toward old charles bridge. i could just feel the charm, the city was oozing with it..even in the dark. i'm a sucker for charm, so i could pretty much tell i was doomed from that point on. then we had dinner. we ate at an incredible restaurant. the food, in a word, was scrumptious. and the beer? amazing. i had a sauerkraut and bratwurst soup followed by a budweiser goulash. don't let the name budweiser fool you, the czech budweiser has nothing in common with the american budweiser (thankfully). we had more beer for dessert and called it a night.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">the next morning was when it was all over. it had snowed over night. my first snow in europe. there is such a calm that comes over a place when it snows. luli and i made our way to the prague castle. we missed the walking tour we wanted to take that morning so we decided to tackle the castle ourselves and go on the second walking tour offered later that day. the castle was amazing. the view was beautiful and st vitus' cathedral was breathtaking.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">it was snowing while we walked back to the old town square for our tour. beautiful, gentle falling snow. the tour was perfect. we learned so much about the city. we walked all over the place, saw amazing things, and met amazing people. it was pouring snow when the tour ended so we decided it was a great time to sit down and have a beer. best place to do it? at a monastery. my monk-brewed beer was fantastic.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">we decided to keep up with our new friends and all go on a bar crawl together that night. it was so fun. we played flip cup, jenga, reenacted famous sculptures, and had the most amazing night. i don't know if any of my nights compare since moving here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">i decided there is no such thing as too much love, </span></span><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">so i'm in love..again (and i don't hate it.)</span></span></div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-64016462958158726262012-01-03T14:12:00.000-08:002012-02-03T17:48:25.677-08:00reflections and lasers<div style="text-align: justify;">i just looked down at my calendar and somehow it's been more than two months since my last post. i'm the world's worst writer. just like ever other journal i've ever started, my attempts at writing have gone right down the drain. with actual journals i think i stop writing because i get bored with my own thoughts and opinions. however, for this 'journal', i wanted to make it more of a documentation of my life and adventures in france. somehow i'm still awful at it. i'm not big on new year's resolutions, but i'm going to try really really hard to keep up with my life here before it completely flashes before my eyes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">the holiday season has come to an end. the holidays (as always) are a time for reflection, hopes, wishes, dreams, and for love and happiness. this was the first year of my life i didn't spend the holiday's with my parents. this whole experience has made me realize how obsessed with my family i am. they're the most wonderful people in the world and my days would be incredibly dark without them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">we'll start with thanksgiving. i wasn't going to celebrate at all, then a horribly tragic event happened and i found myself in normandy with my little sister. we reflected on a life lost and got to spend the holiday weekend together. we ate turkey and pumpkin pie, watched 'elf' over and over again, decorated for christmas, and drank apple cider. i can never express how much i am thankful for and this year is no different. i'm so lucky to continuously have so many blessings come into my life, they all add to my already long list. trying to explain the meaning of thanksgiving to my students was rather tough. they don't have a holiday even remotely close to it and just don't seem to grasp the importance of reflecting on your life and being grateful for the things in it. yes, little frenchies, there is way more in life to be thankful for than shopping, video games, and money.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">the weekend after thanksgiving cari and a friend of hers, rachel, came to lille to visit. the christmas market was in full swing. ferris wheel, carrousel, mulled wine, waffles, christmas trees and christmas lights everywhere. france really knows how to do christmas. we spent the day in the city wandering around vieux lille and the centre ville, went to the musée des beaux arts, and even got to catch a free show at the opéra. it was one of the best weekends i've had in lille since i moved here. it's the type of memory i want bottle up so i am able to remember every detail forever.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">i've had a lot of memories like that since coming here. there'd be about a hundred bottles from my christmas vacation alone. for starters, my older sister got engaged to an absolutely incredible man the day before she flew over the pond for her visit. i cannot wait to call houston my brother, he's so great. cari and i are going to be co-maids of honor in the wedding. here's a little snippet on how she told us he proposed and asked us to be her maids of honor:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxWHKUWDwNcmON6n0TNcFYmcxWxLDxGJS45NEKloiC90aOCPJP5U3wUVACY--svUiNJ3ksjs34TJrM5NCenDg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">we had a seriously amazing trip together. i picked dani up at charles de gaulle on the 17th and we met cari at gare de lyon in paris. we got lunch then started our two week vacation. first stop: marseille. we stayed at the most adorable hostel (vertigo, vieux port) and got to walk around a beautiful mediterranean city for a few days. we ate 'moules frites' by the port, walked to the old fisherman's village, wandered around 'le panier,' and saw amazing cathedrals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">after marseille we headed to bordeaux. i don't think i can love a city more than paris, but bordeaux came pretty close. i love wine, so it's not really a big surprise that i would fall for a place like bordeaux with it's many vineyards. perks of being there during the winter: cheap wine tastings. we went to two different chateaux and tasted one gross wine and two tasty wines. the weather wasn't the best while we were there, but for the most part it held out and we didn't see too much rain. we walked all over the city--saw old ruins, an enormous park and botanical garden, incredible architecture (of course) and took plenty of time to sit in café's drinking coffee and hot chocolate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">we headed to paris on the 23rd. i am like a little girl when it comes to that city. there isn't anywhere in this country more incredible to me. i discover new things each and every time i'm there and it never ceases to amaze me. the more familiar i become with the streets and the metro, the more i love it. rachel met us at the hostel and we got settled and went walking around before dinner. we decided to splurge and spoil ourselves for one meal during our vacation. when my parents were here in october, we got the greatest restaurant recommendation from the concierge at our hotel. just a few minutes away from the eiffel tower, a little place called 'café constant' provided the best meal i've ever eaten. we loved it so much we ate there twice. the second time was just as good as the first, and taking dani there was a must. we considered it our 'christmas dinner' knowing a lot of places would be closed christmas eve and christmas day. i tried fois gras for the first time, we had a great bottle of wine, incredible meals, and fabulous desserts. if i could afford to eat at that place every day, i would.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">on the 24th we got up and started our day at the musée d'orsay. we spent hours looking at the impressionist art on the 5th floor and could have stayed much longer if we weren't so hungry. we grabbed sandwiches and walked along the seine towards notre dame. we had a very important place to go: shakespeare and company (my favorite bookstore in paris.) i was dying to take dani and cari there. from the second i saw it i knew how much they'd love it. it's so quaint. there are hardly words to describe how great the atmosphere is. we went back to the hostel to talk to our mom and dad and our grandma and grandpa in louisiana. probably one of the most difficult conversations i've had. in a few words, i never want to spend christmas away from my parents again. it's a tradition for my dad to read us 'the night before christmas' every christmas eve before we go to bed. this year he read to us on skype. we hardly got through it, but it was a piece of home i can't do without. to lighten the mood my grandpa read us the cajun version afterwards. we left the hostel again to go to notre dame for the midnight mass. it was packed, but so beautiful. the choir sang hymns from 11 until 12, then mass started. the smell of frankincense and myrrh filled the entire cathedral. it was a great experience, but made me miss my church from home...so i hummed 'silent night' to myself on the way back to st. christopher's.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">we had a really slow start on the 25th. i spent the whole day pretending it wasn't actually christmas. it was an amazing day, but didn't feel like <i>christmas</i> without my parents...so i decided it was just the 25th of december, nothing special. dani, cari, rachel, and i went ice skating on the first floor of the eiffel tower. easily one of the top 5 greatest things i've ever done. i haven't been on skates in years and it came back like riding a bike. the view was great and we laughed practically the whole time. when we had our ice skating fill we walked down the stairs, across the street, and rode a carrousel. we walked through one of the many christmas markets and headed to see the arc de triomphe and the big ferris wheel. there was another christmas market on the champs élysées--this one was an enormous 350 shop marché de noël that smelled like waffles and crêpes the whole way through.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">on the 26th it was time to head to carentan, cari's adorable little town. we walked around for a while, and got the chance to relax for a few days. we played the french version of 'clue' and will be officially instating a family board game night when we move home. we got to skype with my mom and dad and gram and granddad in florida and tell them about our holiday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">we left carentan for lille on the 28th. we got in, had sandwiches for lunch, and grabbed hot chocolate and macaroons from paul (a lovely pâtisserie chain here in france) before going to check into our hotel. we read and relaxed a bit (traveling is exhausting in case you wanted to know) then went to grab dinner. we moseyed through the centre ville and along the rue de béthune and ate at my favorite crêpe restaurant. before heading back to paris on the 29th, we walked through vieux lille--my favorite part of the city here.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">we stayed at the sheraton at the airport that night because my dad is the most amazing man that ever walked the face of the planet. dani's flight back home was the morning of the 30th and i'm pretty sure both cari and i were plotting ways to sneak on her flight so we could go home. homesickness hits me hard every now and again, and even pretending like christmas wasn't actually christmas didn't really help. i absolutely did not want to say goodbye to dani--we had such a fantastic trip and i would have given a lot to go home and share it all face-to-face with my family.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">cari and i stayed at the aiport hotel until the last possible minute then took the rer-b back to paris for our last two nights of vacation. on the agenda: disney land for new years eve. it rained, but was still great. i forgot how much fun amusement parks are. roller-coasters, the smell of popcorn, people walking around in cheesy poncho's. and disney themed amusement parks? a buzz lightyear ride that lets you laser blast the evil emperor zurg, a peter pan flight, a pirates of the caribbean boat tour, and the swiss family robinson tree house. incredible. we had gross tex-mex for dinner (but what can you really expect in an amusement park in france?) the rain was pretty miserable, but the fireworks show at the end of the night made it all worth it. they were b-e-a-u-tiful. not a bad way to ring in the new year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">i made it back to armentières around lunch time on the 1st, unpacked, ate poptarts for lunch, then proceeded to sleep for about 20 hours. i have a few trip countdowns that will (hopefully) get me through my last few months here: first to prague, then to turkey and southern italy, and last but not least to greece. all before flying back to charlotte in may. it will be an exciting 4 months.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">i'll be photo dumping onto facebook this weekend. so keep an eye out.</div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-50148152875497239372011-10-11T13:05:00.000-07:002012-02-03T17:48:02.804-08:00even in the rain..<div style="text-align: justify;">so this past weekend my sweet sister, cari, came to visit me alllll the way from carentan. the weekend had an eventful start. there was a train strike on friday and all the trains throughout the country were off schedule. the train stations were disasters everywhere, people with luggage all over the place.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">i spent the day in lille friday with luli, joe, and melissa. we took care of some very important paperwork then did some very important shopping at h&m. we went to meet cari at lille-europe and it was a mad house. we had a café while we waited--her train was delayed only about 20 minutes. so glad it wasn't longer than that (we were starving). when they posted her platform we walked down and for the first time in my life i saw two trains attached together to make one train. lots of people apparently wanted to come to lille for the weekend from paris. i can't blame them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">we decided on crêpes for dinner again..which is never a bad idea. i branched out of my usual crêpe box and had a savory one rather than sweet. cheese, mushrooms, ham and an easy over egg. it was incredible. i can't believe i almost went 25 years without having had a savory crêpe.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">we took the train back to armentières and went to bed early--we had a big day ahead of us on saturday. we went to brugge, belgium. we wanted to leave early from armentières to catch the train at 9:05 from lille across the border. we of course missed our train. here's why:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">ever since i can remember, before my family would go on a trip, my dad would do a 'roll call' of sorts. call out things to be sure we remembered to pack them. cell phone. cell phone charger. computer. computer charger. drivers license. plane tickets. underwear. socks. pants. you know..the usual. as a joke i did this in the hall way before we all headed out the door. "does everyone have their passports? train tickets? shoes?" we laughed. ha. ha. ha. of course we have all of those things! we get to the train station with just enough time for people to buy their tickets for the 8:21 train to lille who don't have passes. one person was running a bit behind and missed my 'roll call'. she didn't have their train ticket to belgium. i said to myself 'well, it's kind of pushing it, but there's another train that leaves at 8:36 to get to lille.' so then i said to her 'we can just take the next train. run back home and get it, we'll wait here with your stuff.' it was early. 8:15ish. i hadn't had coffee. what day was it again? oh, that's right, it was saturday and all the train times are different on the weekends than they are during the week. when was the next train again? 8:36? nope. 9:38. so our hopes to catch the 9:05 train to brugge flew right out the window. the next train to brugge was at 13:05.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">on the bright side, i got to show cari around lille. we walked around vieux lille, had croissants for breakfast, and got sandwiches from 'paul' for lunch. and we played outside of the opera: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfFQd_5ze-P_ypaGHNbv45KsUHC79fAbwFyzcjzI1BDaPjV9gSwAlK-LFb6vfv4PIOISPfn651ESplUEXM6IMU03Si1_dyiZnotHzmNXexBQZki1pSyroE213tukbbSH_oJpPKR2nfgU/s1600/IMG_0369_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfFQd_5ze-P_ypaGHNbv45KsUHC79fAbwFyzcjzI1BDaPjV9gSwAlK-LFb6vfv4PIOISPfn651ESplUEXM6IMU03Si1_dyiZnotHzmNXexBQZki1pSyroE213tukbbSH_oJpPKR2nfgU/s320/IMG_0369_2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">we got on the train at 13:00 and were in brugge by 14:45. another surprise of the weekend: the national language in belgium is not french. i don't know how i didn't know this. i thought they were one of those countries (like canada) that has two national languages. i thought it was dutch AND french. in canada, every sign has to be in both english and french. i figured it'd be the same thing in belgium. wrong. (i really should start doing a bit of research before i travel places.) dutch is not easy to understand. it's a strange mixture between english and german, so i can read it easily enough, but can not even come close to understanding the spoken language.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">we took a rocky (understatement) bus ride to our hostel and got everything settled in our rooms then headed out to the center of town. we walked the wrong direction (of course) but finally made it. we were on the hunt to find 3 things: waffles, chocolate, and beer. it was the easiest thing i've ever done. there were all three all over the place. my personal heaven--chocolate everywhere. practically every other shop we walked past was a chocolatier. and in case you were wondering, belgian chocolate is everything everyone has ever said it is. it. is. amazing. we found a tiny place to have waffles for dinner. since i had a savory crêpe for dinner on friday, i convinced myself it was just fine to have a waffle covered in hot chocolate syrup, bananas, and whipped cream for dinner on saturday. i threw in a cup of hot chocolate just to make sure i got my fill of all things chocolate while i was there. it was melt in your mouth delicious.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">we finished with our wonderful meal then walked to the main square. this is what took my breath away:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_81YDu623lLLZcag5PgyGhIWylwREp4XcxNgA0-V30QxiDu2MAo9G2Acd-OStGcuEjDPphIP8DjtW0YOhCPkO0om5G0IOpsLLFzA8f9_ZKarT7Ny7QYkYaQ88xKxaQ9dTEtDkPkQ5qhY/s1600/IMG_0413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_81YDu623lLLZcag5PgyGhIWylwREp4XcxNgA0-V30QxiDu2MAo9G2Acd-OStGcuEjDPphIP8DjtW0YOhCPkO0om5G0IOpsLLFzA8f9_ZKarT7Ny7QYkYaQ88xKxaQ9dTEtDkPkQ5qhY/s320/IMG_0413.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">there were horse drawn carriages everywhere. we walked down so many charming, gorgeous streets i could look at my pictures every single day and never get tired of them. the only thing i wish was that it hadn't rained practically the whole time we were there. but even in the rain the town had this sort of romantic charm to it that i've never noticed a town having before. we were walking down streets and came across canal after canal, it was gorgeous. we heard it was 'the venice of the north' and i was certain it couldn't compare. it did. in its own way. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">we went out to a tiny place called 'bar des amis' we met so many different people, it's incredible how friendly people are here. it's so easy to talk to people. also i can add a new beer to my list of favorites: leffe blonde. if you can find it back home, try it. it's yummy. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">while we were walking through the square on saturday we noticed a big sign with salvidor dali's name on it. it was an exhibit. it was closed by the time we got there, but when we walked up we saw that you could by a combination ticket for the dali exhibit AND a picasso exhibit for 11 euros. so amazing. the picasso exhibit was from a private collection of picasso, matisse, braque, miro, and others. it was the most incredible thing i've ever seen. we spent hours walking through hall after hall and room after room of original sketches and paintings. a few favorites: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLya4GRvmQ9nyoqinhY1GeNvq5tKNx0jAol9IlW-TxJGkopOHqxOeeBACrKn3UmtLssz_nOyJ5qL74JE8IvtH5YmHAGduPwMlHDAGrj9xMV34rf-fvIfo4gLKR1NftmobfGRPUaXS3doY/s1600/IMG_0462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLya4GRvmQ9nyoqinhY1GeNvq5tKNx0jAol9IlW-TxJGkopOHqxOeeBACrKn3UmtLssz_nOyJ5qL74JE8IvtH5YmHAGduPwMlHDAGrj9xMV34rf-fvIfo4gLKR1NftmobfGRPUaXS3doY/s320/IMG_0462.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"> picasso</div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_nqVZmhfNddEGKqgXzS1uJMwXV9uIt9gZmkYx3sCxo3NTxiBq-d6-lLpHJOxn0cetwroB2H3xE2eYd9sRHY7gh80V-woFbXSztF5WCbKylHouXkIOO9CnAqKEu4bI9OSq2JfHSn82BI/s1600/IMG_0474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_nqVZmhfNddEGKqgXzS1uJMwXV9uIt9gZmkYx3sCxo3NTxiBq-d6-lLpHJOxn0cetwroB2H3xE2eYd9sRHY7gh80V-woFbXSztF5WCbKylHouXkIOO9CnAqKEu4bI9OSq2JfHSn82BI/s320/IMG_0474.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"> picasso</div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWmwCoPnnJvJyCfIC7Rq3LhwSfhEZoQAx4wYR-aSf9tTwOebsZ89f6P_J_JWRHNHp4KLpQ6ztQsXuKJPyG-1_3BorJO3WOCCVmr-PT5PKIuKsg7Rfe2MPRtc5E3UJgTKaL18YSvi_fhY/s1600/IMG_0473.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWmwCoPnnJvJyCfIC7Rq3LhwSfhEZoQAx4wYR-aSf9tTwOebsZ89f6P_J_JWRHNHp4KLpQ6ztQsXuKJPyG-1_3BorJO3WOCCVmr-PT5PKIuKsg7Rfe2MPRtc5E3UJgTKaL18YSvi_fhY/s320/IMG_0473.jpg" width="231" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"> picasso</div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7f4oweKfwam-TMDQtMH7xtwhxWseTMbSlhETXx6kGwb6wV6n6iH__bhtHcmPAcM3ZirebdDG9Mf63yt9r_Dl2TDQlt5q2rdOThEAwzWyteEEGXcyEE_N0Nlx4ohwyMSGr_ilFFDUGg0o/s1600/IMG_0482.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7f4oweKfwam-TMDQtMH7xtwhxWseTMbSlhETXx6kGwb6wV6n6iH__bhtHcmPAcM3ZirebdDG9Mf63yt9r_Dl2TDQlt5q2rdOThEAwzWyteEEGXcyEE_N0Nlx4ohwyMSGr_ilFFDUGg0o/s320/IMG_0482.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"> picasso</div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5lPodSn4JMwUxXq12QfQoqQdJpviwiJzwTtAP8RsfFd3HSsWDTZ7JQmQ4MAKRW8ahOXs6SQeKCcstHOkqrwJSkScxl3bDt7zFX0gLVxiWJCiVhST9iyl6fplFR3b9tWivzpKq5FT05E/s1600/IMG_0489.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5lPodSn4JMwUxXq12QfQoqQdJpviwiJzwTtAP8RsfFd3HSsWDTZ7JQmQ4MAKRW8ahOXs6SQeKCcstHOkqrwJSkScxl3bDt7zFX0gLVxiWJCiVhST9iyl6fplFR3b9tWivzpKq5FT05E/s320/IMG_0489.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;">matisse</div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9HLJUA6IhFSNgxYYOe9Y3wsU160y_gF782KUV1SEqixzWOLd9ARepvo0AGh_oT-ARl2J38ahUfjpViVQMfEkKQPq3Rwiae0TBcCrDm4fgcMU1kIS9eWZuMm27rqY0tOzKK3mDkFjSXI/s1600/IMG_0507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9HLJUA6IhFSNgxYYOe9Y3wsU160y_gF782KUV1SEqixzWOLd9ARepvo0AGh_oT-ARl2J38ahUfjpViVQMfEkKQPq3Rwiae0TBcCrDm4fgcMU1kIS9eWZuMm27rqY0tOzKK3mDkFjSXI/s320/IMG_0507.jpg" width="221" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"> dali</div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5lPodSn4JMwUxXq12QfQoqQdJpviwiJzwTtAP8RsfFd3HSsWDTZ7JQmQ4MAKRW8ahOXs6SQeKCcstHOkqrwJSkScxl3bDt7zFX0gLVxiWJCiVhST9iyl6fplFR3b9tWivzpKq5FT05E/s1600/IMG_0489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAw_Z7cIdrymxs4xv12V90POHWAI4prpazrKsrZFoXaor2G1KQY8rsflJw1pknj491XGwYK1WfLAyApIs9p6mzAw-mlqY6pAsSepVL7ptGMzgvkkF1LeSyM1wnWb-ITMWc-kP4S6xCYOU/s320/IMG_0510.jpg" width="246" /></a> </div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;">dali</div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">it was the perfect way to spend a rainy day. after the exhibits we had lunch at the most amazing restaurant. really the only thing amazing about it was the food. a "petit" spaghetti that could have fed 3 people. it was warm and perfect. we had to head back a bit early, cari had trains to catch from lille to head back to carentan. we all fell asleep on the train back, we were exhausted. </div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">next weekend: carentan to visit cari.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</a></div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-14950394746191351342011-10-03T12:29:00.000-07:002012-02-03T17:45:36.272-08:00the day i fell in love with vieux lille<div style="text-align: justify;">i can't decide if i'm used to the daily struggle of living in the high school or if things really are getting easier. i do know that my french is getting much better. all of the assistants living at the high school have arrived. there are 4 americans now, 2 argentinians, and 2 germans. one of the german girls just arrived tonight so i'm not sure if she speaks english or not, but sabine (the one who arrived on friday) doesn't speak any english, so we all try to speak french when we're together.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">yesterday we decided to take a day trip to lille. one of the teachers at gustave eiffel (the high school) invited joe to spend the day there with him and he would give him a tour and show him around, and he extended the invitation to us all which was so kind. we took the train from armentières to lille a bit before 11:45 and got to lille-flandres just before noon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">we ate lunch..i don't really know if i would call it that though. a few of us ordered the same thing--le welsh--it sounded so appealing. here's what i pictured in my head: bread topped with ham and a piece of cheese nicely melted/browned on top. what i got: stale bread topped with gross ham swimming in thick cheese soup. the first few bites were manageable. then it turned heavy and kind of gross. maybe it'd be a good dish to have in the dead of winter. we'll see..i don't know if i'll be able to bring myself to eat it again. it was also served with a side of fries. so healthy. they love fries in the north. it's so strange, they're not even that good. usually when a place is famous for something, or everyone always eats something it's the most amazing version of whatever that thing is. i have had better fries before. many many times. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">after we finished lunch, we started walking around. i could have walked for days. it was so absolutely beautiful. we went to the town center then walked to an area of the city called 'vieux lille' (old lille). all of the streets are cobblestone, all of the architecture is heavily dutch influenced. there are flower boxes from almost every window, cafes on almost every street, chocolatiers and pattisiers everywhere. it's so charming. it also helps that the weather was utterly perfect. not a cloud in the sky and 75 degrees.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">we went to the zoo (which is free) and saw tons of birds, rhino's, snakes, the cutest little monkeys that did tricks when they saw it got a reaction from the people watching, zebras, and the sweetest looking red panda sleeping in a tree. we walked all over the place. we mapped it out later and walked 7.5 miles. we had dinner at a chinese place and then went to see our first french film. l'apollonide: souvenire d'une maison close.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">it was the perfect day. lille is such a wonderful place and i am so thankful to be living somewhere so great.</div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-21327531733962441062011-09-30T11:38:00.000-07:002012-02-03T17:47:06.876-08:00that time i almost got arrested in france...<div style="text-align: justify;">living in a high school kind of stinks. it's definitely interesting. my room is so small. i have a bed, a desk, a dresser, and a sink in my room and share the shower and bathroom with the other people on the hall. the bed is SO uncomfortable. there are about 300 of the 1000 students that go to school here that live here. the first night they pulled the fire alarm 5 times. my sink leaks and even though i've told a few people about it, no one seems to fix it. the shower is the most awful thing i've ever experienced. it basically just sprays water in every direction except for down. it floods the whole shower room every time someone uses it. there is one computer lab in the school. NO WIFI. kill me. i thought the lab would be easily accessible. wrong. it's only open one hour a day..from 5:30-6:30. we've kind of been a bit persistant about using it so the man at the front desk opened it for us after we ate dinner tonight..but it's closed all weekend. so we found out mcdonalds has free wifi. dear mcdonalds..i hated you in america but love you in france. the food in the cafeteria here is really cheap--2 euros for lunch and dinner and 90 cents for breakfast. the meals are HUGE. i really need to be careful how much i eat or i'm going to gain 75 pounds by the time i leave. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">i went into perenchies today which is the town where my other school is. it was supposed to be really easy to get to. take the train and it's a 5 minute ride. well, i got to the train station in armentieres earlier than i needed to get there (i'm never early for anything) and so i went ahead and took an earlier train that left at 10:00. except the train i took was nonstop to lille and didn't stop in perenchies. so i got to the main trainstation in lille at 10:15 and the next train to perenchies was at 12:15. my meeting in perenchies was at 11:00. panicking. i had to take the metro then take a bus the rest of the way. i got my metro ticket, and the booths to stamp your ticket in this station were different than the ones i was used to using in paris, and i guess i didn't put it in far enough, so it didn't stamp. i didn't really have time to ask around to make sure i was doing it right so i figured i'd just go ahead and get on the metro. um. huge mistake. these people got on about halfway through my ride that are similar to police to check everyones tickets. they of course don't speak any english (it seems no one here does) and they made me get off the metro and thankfully he just walked me over to the thing to stamp my ticket to make sure that i really had bought it that day and let me get back on. i was petrified. i really thought i was going to get in trouble with them. wah arrested in france, just my luck. i got off the metro and onto the bus and somehow was only 5 minutes late to my meeting. i met with the english teachers and observed a class. the kids are really cute. they asked me tons of questions, but mainly just want to know how old i am. everyone here is practically obsessed with new york. they all just assume that i've been there. the kids figured out how old i was by asking how old i was when 9/11 happened. tricky little monsters. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">i had lunch with the teachers in perenchies. i'm glad that my time is split up evenly, i like it in perenchies a lot. for now i'll be spending 6 hours a day there on tuesdays there. one of the english teachers there and she dropped me off at the train station when we were finished today (at 1:30) and asked if i wanted her to wait with me. i said no because i figured that the trains were frequent, or at least every 30 minutes or so. boy was i wrong (again). the next train to armentieres wasn't until 3:55. so i went to the supermarket and bought some cereal and nutella for this weekend. i just stayed close to be sure i wouldn't miss another train. when i got back i did mysore ashtanga in my room for the first time. i haven't been able to practice since i got here, so it was nice to be on my mat again. one of the administrators at my school in armentieres said that he and his wife run on the weekends and he invited me to go with them. although noone speaks english here, everyone is really welcoming and wants to be sure i'm getting settled okay. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">since i'll be teaching tuesdays in perenchies for 6 hours, i may see if i can do 3 hours on wednesdays and thursdays in armentieres and then i'd have off mondays and fridays which will make travel a bit easier. i am going to start looking into places i want to visit and rail passes, etc.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">tomorrow i'm going into lille with the other assistants to walk around and have lunch and dinner since the high school shuts down on weekends and we have to fend for ourselves for meals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">maybe one day i'll post my pictures.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">that's all for now. i didn't get arrested..it was a good day.</div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-49003956882603665722011-09-25T13:31:00.000-07:002012-02-17T08:19:41.171-08:00crêpes for dinner<div style="text-align: justify;">
paris. ummmmm. paris. don't really know where to start, so i guess i'll start where i left off. at the airport in charlotte.</div>
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we finally left at around 8:30pm and flew across the pond to charles de gaulle airport in paris. i got to watch some great movies with their on demand. something borrowed (a book i loved) and water for elephants (a book i loved more). they were both cute..not as good as the books, but when are they ever? we were supposed to sleep as much as we could on the plane, but my seat wouldn't recline as much as i wanted to, it was cold, and my pillow sucked. i probably slept an hour the whole flight. when we got to paris it was 10:30 in the morning. we had to stay up allllll day (again). we got our bags and started to try to navigate our way around the airport. france is a silly country and the airport doesn't have free wifi. we couldn't pull up the address to our hostel and of course neither me or my sister thought to write it down. we found the RER B to take us to gare du nord, and from gare du nord we were supposed to take the 2 line to sacre coeur...or so we thought. we both thought our hostel was really close to there, but we were so so wrong. after dragging our suitcases and carry on bags through the streets and train stations of paris for almost 3 hours we finally decided to just take a taxi. we got to our hostel a little bit after 1:30 and skyped with our parents (it was 7:30am in charlotte). the 6 hour time difference has been something in and of itself to adjust to.</div>
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oh, i forgot to mention! our french stunk. we had such a hard time communicating..looking back i'm going to blame it on exhaustion. </div>
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we took a nap (even though we weren't supposed to) and then got up and walked around near the hostel. we're staying at st. christophers inn right along a canal that leads to the seine. it's a great place, highly highly recommend staying here if you're ever in paris (or any other city where they might have a location). we got our first french meal..a baguette with chèvre, tomatoes, and lettuce..it was most delicious. we walked along the canal, sat along the river, then came back to the hostel and had a few beers. we met some wonderfully friendly scottish people and hung out with them for the rest of the night.</div>
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we got up on friday and decided to conquer the louvre and the eiffel tower. we got lost on our way to the metro station..the first of many many times getting lost. we finally found the stalingrad station, bought a bunch of metro tickets and got on the 2 to head to the louvre. we took some pictures of the pyramids then decided to just walk to the tower and we would go to the louvre later. the walk from the louvre to the tower was not short. it was long. very long. but it was beautiful and we only started complaining when we got hungry. solution: un patisserie et boulangerie for another baguette sandwich. we ordered then walked the rest of the way and ate on a bench at the bottom of the tower. the lines to take the elevators up the tower are so long, so we decided to take the stairs. 669 stairs (equivalent to 43 stories). holy tired. but SO worth it. the view was breathtaking. we walked back down and got an ice cream (une glace) and ate it on the lawns looking towards the tower. we took a nap and sat for a while, then got up and walked along the seine to find dinner. we ate at a café. it was good, but expensive..so we decided not to do that again. we found our way to the metro and headed home.</div>
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every day we've had has been long and tiring but we managed to space everything out nicely so we haven't felt rushed. yesterday morning we woke up, showered and got ready and came down to the café/bar attached to the hostel, watched a bit of rugby and had lunch. my first croque monsieur this trip and it was so yummy. so yummy i may have that for lunch again tomorrow since my mouth is watering now just thinking of it. we went and ran errands. we got french cell phones, went to gare du nord to buy my train ticket for tomorrow, then to saint lazarre station to buy cari's and to be sure we knew where to go as to not miss our trains. from saint lazarre we went to sacre coeur, montmatre, and le moulin rouge. sacre coeur and montmatre are not as high as the eiffel tower, but it's breathtaking to look over the city from higher up. we did lots and lots of walking and climbing more stairs. on our way home from the moulin rouge we stopped at a pizza place just down the street from our hostel and had a homemade pizza. ham, mushrooms, and cheese. i don't remember ever having a more yummy pizza..well, maybe when i was in italy after high school..but this one is a very very close second. </div>
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this morning we decided to get a bit of an earlier start so we could see everything except the musée d'orsay (which we'll do tomorrow before we leave). we had breakfast at the hostel and were out the door by 10:30. first stop was the louvre (for real this time). we got our tickets and walked all around the museum. i don't even know where to start with how many amazing things we saw. the statues are so lovely and i cannot believe how the artists were able to make them so detailed. we of course saw the mona lisa, venus de milo, winged victory, and the sphynx, but there was so much more and it was all incredible. after a few hours in the louvre we went to find the arc de triomphe. we got lost. again. really really lost this time. well, not THAT lost, we just walked the wrong direction..for at least 2 miles. we found our way to ave champs elysées and made it to the arc. it was huge. and beautiful. and huge. then we took the metro to notre dame, which was also huge and beautiful. we caught a little bit of mass while we were there, i am not catholic, but the hymns were lovely. when we left we found a crêperie right outside of the cathedral and had crêpes with nutella and banana for dinner. we're allowed to do these things because we walk so much during the day it cancels it out. after our dinner we took the metro back home and here i sit in the café at the hostel.</div>
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i packed my suitcase for tomorrow, had a chocolat chaud, and am getting ready to head up to bed. we're going to the musée d'orsay tomorrow morning before we have to leave. my train leaves gare du nord at 16h 58 and i'll arrive in lille at 18h. the principal of my school is coming to pick me up from the train station and i'll stay with him and his wife tomorrow.</div>
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more to come from lille in a few days once i get settled in my dorm/flat/studio/wherever it is i'll be living.</div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8797216558235217321.post-83225603806788111432011-09-21T13:31:00.000-07:002012-02-03T17:46:33.995-08:00it's time<div style="text-align: justify;">so what better time to make a post than waiting for my flight to board. are we delayed? of course we are! they're making the announcements in french and english. my sisters response to this: "at least i know what they're saying." i psyched myself out so much that i had myself convinced i couldn't speak any french and i was going to be walking around aimlessly, unable to communicate with anyone when i got to france. SURPRISE! i still can speak and understand french! what a relief.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">so, my younger sister and i are flying out of charlotte today. it's pouring down rain in charlotte. wonderful day to fly. sike. i thought today was going to be so long, but surprise again! it flew by. i ran a few last minute errands, said goodbye to a dear friend, and then packed and repacked my bag. magically it was under the weight limit of 50lbs. i don't know how i managed to do that, but i did. i do have two pretty large carry-on bags, but, i am so amazed at myself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">saying goodbye to my dogs and my family was just about the hardest thing i've ever had to do. thank god i don't have a boyfriend that i would have had to leave behind too. riley (my sweet sweet puppy) was upset with me all day long. she had me sobbing before i even left my house. then came lots of water works at the security check at the airport. it's no shock that my family and i are very close. when i was in college i came home almost every single month. this will be the longest i've ever been away from home. it's going to be hard. i am so relieved that i have my sister with me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">the flight is about 9 hours long (assuming we ever leave the airport) and the time difference is 6 hours ahead. it will be about 8:30am when we get to charles de gaulle. perfect timing to get my first pain au chocolat and espresso.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">a bientot!</div>klvolkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03437229689778221301noreply@blogger.com0