This was an extreme weekend for me. Catherine and I termed it that because it was extremely amazing and awesome and wonderful, and had an extremely bad part. Extreme ends of things...which made it pretty emotional, but also made it a time to refresh myself for the first time in awhile and....inhale.
As for the bad part, I'll leave details out, but I successfully (and surprisingly) outmaneuvered what I consider to have been a poor decision (for many logical and well-thought reasons), only prolonging the inevitable, but giving me enough time to deal with it later. Although it left me pretty upset, I was comforted by amazing friends (old and new), beautiful Paris, and the rest and relaxation that came with staying in a house, rather than a hostel.
over it.
this weekend was awesome. we got to Paris thursday night, taking a bus from charles de gaulle airport into paris (CDG is one of the biggest airports i have ever been to...and ive been to a lot)...nicole and bri picked us up and walked us back to nicole's apartment (which is so close to the arc de triomphe). she lives on the sixth floor...technically she lives in a homestay right now, since she's studying in france. but we all stayed at her parents apartment for the weekend. we chatted with her parents and little sister (named Danielle, easy to remember). The apartment was adorable and very nice. cute little french kitchen big living room and dining room with slanted ceilings. three bedrooms, 2.5 bath. our bathroom was huge too. Nicoles mom fed us pizza and soup and little pumpkin pies. and that was my thanksgiving haha.
friday catherine and i got up early and did the louvre (main parts), starbucks, musee d'orsay (which is completely under construction right now and looked nothing like it did the last time i was there, but still had beautiful art), sante-chapelle, a tiny little chapel which outrageously tall stained glass windows that were beautiful, though the front alter was under restoration and we couldnt see any of it (go figure), we were also harassed by a jerk waiting in line who tried to convince us we had no idea why were there. I gave him a piece of my mind, but when he wouldnt lay off, we just left.
Then we went and did Notre Dame, which was huge and gothic, etc. we also did the treasury which apparently has part of the cross (yeah, Jesus's cross) and part of the crown of thorns (yeah, Jesus's crown of thorns). but im kinda tired of every church claiming to have some saint's bones, etc.
then we met Nicole there and she took us through this adorable little shopping area, with nice shops and cute shops, of all sorts of stuff... then it started snowing!!!!!! it was actually the only day it snowed... but it snowed pretty heavily... and happened to be right when we were picking up a 10 lb turkey.
There's a store in paris called The Thanksgiving Store.. Nicole ordered a stuffed turkey for our thanksgiving dinner (friday night)... uber expensive... but it was quite fun transporting the turkey back to the apartment in the snow. Catherine and I were the body guards and Nicole was the First Lady of the Turkey and Catherine and I practice fire drills in case Nicole slipped in the snow. (tactic: throw the turkey straight up into the air. Catherine and I lock arms and catch turkey.)
then we just went back to the apartment and gotttt ready. Catherine and I did dishes, and got sent out for wine. Then Bri and Katherine got sent out for baguettes (soooo many baguettes hahahaha) and more potatoes... Nicole spent all morning making mashed potatoes... haha
we made an appetizer (sunita and nicole's work)... cleaned the apartment, got everything ready and then the guests arrived!!! they were all friends from Nicole's paris program (some from duke, emory, cornell, etc) and were all super nice. They brought food too (more baguette, a vegetarian dish, stuffing, and dessert). we also ordered filipino food (spring rolls and noodles). Nicole tried to make gravy (along with my advice) but it was a big fail. We just did buffet style and every ate like crazy and it was fun to watch Nicole carve the turkey (she even got the wishbone out later!) and we did toasts and talked and overall just had an amazing time. Definitely a thanksgiving unlike any other. I definitely missed my family, and things were rough that night (for me), but i had a really great time sticking it out anyway. nicole did a great job too.
saturday. we were gonna get up early (but that was a fail). we went to montmartre and got lunch at the Amelie Cafe (The Two Windmills!) it was quite an experience: it was soooo crowded (i guess it's popularity has risen).... i thought our waitress wasn't very nice....there was a mouse in the restaurant (yeah....)... and then i accidentally ordered beef hahahahaha. nicole amazingly took my meal, but i felt terrible. overall... i love amelie... the cafe was super cute (though it didnt really look like it did in the movie), so i was happy to be there... but i think our experience couldve been a little better, haha
then we headed up to Sacre-coeur (the church on top...i think it used to be a convent right?) it was super cold but we roughed through it. it was pretty much getting dark after that so we headed back into town.
We went to the original Laduree (definitely missed my fam hardcore right then). Catherine and I bought Nicole her box as a thank-you for everything over the weekend. They were amazing as always and didnt last long enough.
Then we proceeded down the Christmas Market, which runs down Champs Elysses. It was Awesome!!! but so crowded. just tons of venders selling junka nd everything is all lit up and pretty for christmas. we got chocolate and banana crepes which were SUPERB and then we got hot wine... which was the weirdest thing i've ever drunk in my life... i dont think there was alcohol in it because alcohol burns out when you cook it. it had the consistency of apple cider... but was kinda like grape/wine cider...pretty much. you kinda kept wanting it to just be apple cider though, haha. anyway, interesting experience. Catherine and I raced each other to finish it (since we were saying we werent going to finish it because it was so weird and then challenged each other) which was probably a bad idea, haha.
then we climbed the arc de triomphe, which i hadnt done with my family...we timed it just right and were up there when the eiffel tower was twinkling... it was so cold but a lot of fun.
then we went back to nicoles house and had an amazing evening: we reheated up leftovers... i made garlic bread...and we ate macaroons and pumpkin pie and watched the duke/oregon game... which was a joke but a lot of fun to watch altogether. it was a great night.
this morning we got up early (and by early i mean like 8:30 haha) and did the eiffel tower.... im pretty sure it was the coldest i have ever been in my life. nevertheless, i forgot how high the eiffel tower is... it made the arc de triomphe look so smalll and we were so happy the night before to be on top of it!! but i couldnt handle it for very long... it was soooo coollllllllddddddd. i thought i was going to ddiiiiiieeeee.
Then we went to angelina's for lunch. which was this little cafe established in 1903. it is ornate and beautiful and famous for it's hot chocolate. we ordered lunch/brunch though... i got a mushroom and cheese omelette with a side salad which was heavenly... nicole and katherine got onion soup and it hit me when they brought it out that it was French Onion Soup.... but they dont say french in france... it looked just like mom's haha.
then we all got hot chocolate... it's kinda a big deal....they bring out your cup and saucer and spoons first. they they bring you each (or between two people) a little pitcher of hot chocolate... and a then a bowl of whipped cream! so you pour the hot chocolate, add the whipped cream, and enjoy the amazing hot chocolate! :)
coming home was hard. it was such a fun weekend... but mostly i just didnt want to come back to florence when i think about what's ahead: 2 papers, 4 italian tasks, 2 econ problem sets, 3 exams (two of which are two days long), two presentations, and dont talk to me about petty hw assignments. OH MY GOODNESS. im dreading it alllllll!!!
but it was nice to come back to my apartment and be greeted by everyone... i think the twelve us are all finally starting to get along with each other... just in time to go home.. but i think we've sorta all accepted our differences....doesnt mean i dont like how nasty our kitchen is sometimes. but we all just talked about our weekends and work coming up ahead. it was nice.
via ricasoli 46 is growing mold..... hasnt in my room or bathroom yet (thank god) but is pretty bad in other rooms... too much rain and cold and then the individual heaters in our rooms is my theory. but ugh... it smells awful... isnt it dangerous to inhale that stuff?
i feel like there's nothing left to do but finish....finish everything... finish everythign i want to do and finish all my work. it's making me incredibly sad. i keep telling everyone: im excited to see everyone back home (and show them how cultured i am now, hehe)... but just the idea of not being in europe is so weird... the idea of being in the US is weird... i feel like ive lived here forever.
i also counted today that we have taken over 20 trains, 7 airplanes (10 if you count getting to florence), 11 hostels, and too many buses to count. oh my goodness.
okay... i gotta do some hw tonight. BLEGGGGGGGG
love bec
ps pics from gordon browns breakfast are available!! im going to try and go get them tomorrow ! :) and eric's little cast party is tomorrow and we're supposed to get dvds of the show! :) good news all around!
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