Maastricht and Barcelona!

My February break was a success! I had an amazing time in two great countries and there is so much to tell! First of all, I began my trip to Maastricht, the Netherlands by taking a 20 minute bus to the TGV (fast train) station halway between Aix and Marseille. I got there early because I had never been to the Aix station. I looked around, found out what I was supposed to do and waited. My train said that it was "en retard" (late) so I was thinking I would have to wait a bit before my train arrived. Without warning though, my train arrived, on time, and I just barely made it! But I got on the train and then attempted to find my seat. I was on the second level of the train but I found that an older woman was in my seat. I just let her sit there though and found another seat, with a better view that was empty! I enjoyed the scenery on my 3 hour train ride to Paris, where I knew I had to get off and switch stations. I got off and started to walk to the information center so I could find out where I had to go to get to the other station. I finally found the desk after 20 minutes and hurried to the metro. It took another 20 minutes to get my ticket and get on the metro the person at the information desk told me to get on. It was the wrong one, but I didn't know that until I was twenty minutes out of the way at the wrong stop. So I switched trains and finally got on the right one. I arrived at the station with twenty minutes to spare and got onto my train to Liege, Belgium.

Finally I arrived in Liege after 3 and a half hours, where I had an hour wait until my connecting train to Maastricht, the Netherlands. I arrived in Maastricht to be greeted by happy Carnival goers dressed in green, red and yellow. My friend Andy picked me up and we began the journey in the snow. Obviously, since the Netherlands are much further north than Aix, I had a lot of adjusting to do! The next few days were spent catching up with my roommate, Maggie, and meeting all the international students who live on her hall. We attended the Carnival festivities and it was tons of fun! The Dutch are such happy and enthusiastic people and I loved witnessing something that is so important to them. They are such a proud group of individuals! They also are very into dressing up for Carnival. I was told that unless I wore either a costume or the Carnival colors (red, green and yellow) I would be booed whenever I walked anywhere! So I bought a scarf with the right colors and attempted to dress up!

Maggie and I then took off for Barcelona! We got into Girona late on Wednesday night and took a shuttle to Barcelona! We managed to get to our hostel and slept soundly. We woke up and took off for our first day in Barcelona! We were both so excited to be in warmer weather and the sunshine! We took a free walking tour all around the Gothic quarter, which was gorgeous. We walked around, and Maggie was amazed at the warmth and sunshine that I am so used to now! We had the most delicious large lunch which consisted of cream of mushroom soup, paella with calamari, mussels, rabbit and sausage, and finally toffee cake. The next day, we went to Sagrada Familia, the church and building that Gaudi is most well known for! It was beautiful and so intricate (this is Maggie and me in front of it!). We then continued on to Parc Guell, which was also designed by Gaudi. Gaudi was hired by wealthy families who wanted to show off their wealth. So for one family, he created Parc Guell. It was so gorgeous; with great views of the whole city, Sagrada Familia and the Mediterranean! Between the palm trees, bright colors, the view and the architecture, I was in complete awe. This was definitely my favorite spot in Barcelona and it was breathtakingly beautiful. We then returned to our hostel and prepared ourselves for the cooking class that we were going to later that night. We headed off to the meeting location and walked to the restaurant where we would make our own tapas, paella and sangria. Needless to say the meal was delicious and I was in gastronomic heaven! The paella had calamari, mussels, prawns and perch... amazing. The meal was also great becuase we we surrounded by people from different countries. There were some Germans, some Australians, some Belgian and others. It was so interesting and the discussions were always lively! The next and our last full day, we headed to Monjuic, where the Olympic stadium from the Barcelona 1992 Olympics was located! This little mountain offered great views of the city and was really pretty. We went to the stadium and the surrounding area and really enjoyed being in the sun! We took our time and wandered a bit until we found the MNAC (Muesem of National Art and Catalonia). We did not go inside, but the outside was beautiful and looked like a palace! We then decided it was time to go to the beaches.


Maggie luckily speaks a little Spanish, so when it came time for us to ask which bus to take to get somewhere, she was able to. We were told to take a certain bus, so we did. Turns out it was the wrong bus. We did not realize this until we passed Sagrada Familia, which is on the other side of the city and the opposite direction of where we wanted to go! We finally went to ask the bus driver where we were when we were told that this was the last stop and we needed to get off. Cool. So we laughed for a very long time about this and finally found someone to ask where exactly we were. We took out our map and asked her to show us where we were, and she laughed and pointed to an area... off the map. So we somehow managed to reach the outer city limits!!!! The bus driver came back from doing an errand and the woman kindly told him (in Spanish, she didn't speak any English!) that we were lost and needed to get to a certain stop. He told us to wait for a bit and he would show us exactly where we should go. He stopped the bus after 30 minutes or so and called us to the front. He then told us where to go! How nice!! So we finally found our way back to the hostel and managed to find lunch. We then went out to dinner with a friend from high school! Liz Pino is studying in Barcelona so she knew exactly where to take us and the restaurant was amazing! We had such a great time catching up and the waitstaff loved our table of four girls! Liz then took me out for a great night and we went to the beaches on Barcelona, while Maggie had to leave to go back to Maastricht! She had a really early morning flight and a shuttle from Barcelona at 3am... so she had to leave us early to gather her stuff at the hostel. We headed to the clubs that are on the beach and enjoyed the nice weather and the warmth!

I left the next day and began my 9 hour bus ride exhausted. I had to do some homework but managed to sleep a little bit. But I have come to a conclusion, I do NOT fit on European buses. My legs are too long and therefore it was a very uncomfortable 9 hour busride. But the views were amazing and we pretty much drove along the Mediterranean the whole time! Not only did I see tons of palm trees (my new obsession), but there were hundreds of wind turbines! I was so happy to see three of my favorite things (wind turbines, palm trees and the Mediterranean Sea)! We also drove through the Pyrenees Mountains, so that provided lots of really pretty views! Finally, I arrived home safely in Aix and was so excited to be home! All in all, it was a great vacation!!!!

Little thoughts

1) French dogs are the happiest dogs in the world, plain and simple. They always look so happy (and are rarely on leashes) and are definitely loving life. No barking... no whining... just pure happiness. They will sit politely outside of a store, looking at the people passing by... but never making a noise! There is one man in Aix who has two sharpeis. These sharpeis are puppies and wrinkly and adorable. Not only are the dogs always happy and smiling but the cute older man is too! So happy dogs in France, make happy people in France.

2) French men smell. Apparently they do not sell deodorant in France... it is gross. Thankfully, some wear it... but there are many who do not...

3) Blondes in France are like diamonds. No joke, we are rare and everyone feels the need to stare. In the south of France, there are not that many blondes and the men here think it is okay to tell me that I have beautiful hair and that we should date... no random man I do not want to date you! It is a silly thought, but my cousin, Alissa, who is also blonde and studied in Aix will agree.

4)French food is amazing. My host mom should be a five star chef.

5) Everyone smokes in France. But they all claim that they are just casual smokers or social smokers. This is not true.



So before I write a page or two about my vacation to Barcelona and Maastricht, The Netherlands, I wanted to discuss something. It has been raining a bit recently here (and by raining, I mean it rains for an hour and then is sunny and beautiful) and my apartment building is really old. So today, I was leaving to get to walk to class and I attempted to open my front door ( from the inside...) and it would not open. I tried again... and again... and again. I attempted to open my front door for 15 minutes. I then called my housemate who said she would come let me out. So I awkwardly stood in the hallway, hoping for someone to open the door from the outside. My hostmother then struggled opening the door but was successful. She then laughed with me at the fact that I was not able to open the door. Turns out my housemate had the same problem earlier in the morning. We showed up a little late to class and my friends had told our professor that we would be late. As we walked in, he said, "Ohhhh so YOU are the one who was locked in her own apartment building... okay." Hahaha, our hostmom described why it was sticking (the wood expands in the rain) and told us how to open it (with force... and lots of it). What a day! How many people can say that they were locked inside of their own apartment?! Not many!

Vive la France!

So we all know that the French are known for their fine cuisine and they are also known for eating things such as frog legs, liver et cetera. Well, my host mother, Bridgette, is an amazing cook. I would like to give an example of what I have been consuming for dinner over the past couple weeks. Last night I had the most amazing meal yet. We began with salad with the same vinagrette I use at home. Good start. Then we continued with spinach (not usually my favorite) sauteed in a cheese sauce. So yummy. Then we had steak (!!!) with mushrooms (again not my favorite) and a cheese sauce. Delicious. We then had cheese, my favorite part. My host mom found out that my favorite type of cheese is Chevre so she bought that to add to the assortment of cheese. Like I said, it is my favorite part of the meal. It was the most amazing meal ever.

Now to move on and discuss some of the weirder things I have consumed. I decided when I came to France I was going to try everything that I was served. Anyway, lets start with slightly smoked salmon. For anyone who knows me, you know I do not like raw fish (or slightly smoked... not cooked... smoked). So this was new for me. We placed the salmon in a crepe and put sour cream and lemon on it... sounds odd. But it was delicious. The other night we had something that resembled steak... it looked the same... but didn't taste the same. So I decided to ask. My host mom said, "Well... it is... foie... I don't know the word in English..." Yup, that is liver. So we had liver... it was good... but the texture was a little strange. And then there was the fish... wrapped around a pickle... These all sound very strange, but it was amazing.

Needless to say, dinner is my favorite time of day!

This weekend was my first official weekend in Aix and it was awesome! The city is filled with young people... there are over 40,000 students in Aix and a lot are international. This large amount of foreign students makes the city feel more lively, at least I think so. My cousin, Alissa, came to visit me this weekend (for those of you who don't know, she studied at the IAU in Aix two years ago)! It is so great to have family in France and I loved seeing her! She was able to take me around so that I could see and experience her favorite places! What was the most entertaining thing though, was the fact that Alissa and I are both blonde. There are few blondes in the south of France... so when everyone saw two blondes together... it was like we were a special commodity. It was hilarious to see everyone's reactions! Alissa helped me buy my ticket to Belgium for this upcoming weekend! I am taking a train from Aix to Paris... where I have to switch train stations to get a connecting train to Liege, Belgium. And then I have yet another connecting train from Liege to Maastricht, Holland where I will be visiting Maggie (my roommate from HWS!!!!) as well as a bunch of other friends from HWS!!! Yay! Mid week, Maggie and I are going to fly down to Barcelona, Spain and spend four days in the sun there! I can't wait!!!

On Saturday night, my friends and I were wandering along the Cours Mirabeau (main road in the city) when these guys ( who looked our age) in uniforms passed by. I had just recently learned that there was a military school in Aix and I was excited to explain this to my friends. I had just started to tell them this fact when we heard, "AHHH! Are you American?!?!?!" We kept walking becuase we did not want to be harassed... but one of the guys came up to us and said, "Wait! I am American too! I'm from Texas... it is nice to hear an American accent!" They turned out to be really nice and spoke to us in French and English... I tried to speak French until I found myself laughing at their hats (which were ridiculous), and this is when I switched back to English and told them that we had to go (because I could not talk to them any longer because I was laughing at their hats... which had tons of feathers and were hilarious). Oh, all the restaurants and pubs play American music... so when Sweet Home Alabama came on, the French attempted to sing it... but failed. All in all, it was a great night and a great weekend!

I realized today, when I was eating my lunch that consisted of baguette, la vache qui rit (laughing cow cheese), badoit and an orange (yummy!), how lucky I really was. My friend and I were eating our little lunch outside of a church, the one pictured previously, that is ancient and beautiful. It seems that the French girls who were sitting next to us in the warm sun did not even seem to notice or appreciate this. And this is a silly thought. They see this gorgeous church every day. They also see buildings that were built before the 16th century all the time.... it is a part of their life. My friend and I realized and very much appreciated how lucky we were and glad that we were able to appreciate a church that was built in the 5th century! I have always been a fan of Europe and European history, but to be eating lunch right next to this church was amazing! I discussed this with a French professor and he laughed and said, "Welcome to France, where they actually knew how to build buildings and monuments that would last forever." It is true, I do not know what the oldest building is in the United States, but it is obviously not even close to anything in France! Tonight we have a little party put together by Erasmus and all universities in Aix, so that all the international and American students can meet each other as well as other French students! I am very excited to meet some interesting people! A plus (See you later)!