As my European adventure comes to an end, I've been busy enjoying the finer parts of Parisian life, including (but not limited to):
-girls' nights out, including a trip to Favela Chic in Oberkampf, one of the coolest and most unpretentious places I've been in Paris
-afternoons in parks with new friends, involving a mandolin, a guitar, 1 Euro bottles of red wine, an American football, plus some of the cutest French kids on earth
-salades chevres chaudes and indulgent chocolate desserts with my girls
-rock climbing adventures with some Colorado boys (a taste of home...)
-one last Boca Mexa trip
-dressing up and making music videos with the girls of Chez Glacière, whom I will miss so much
-Paris in the rain...
-etc.
Despite all of the wonderful things I've been up to during my last week in Paris, some sad news has come to my attention (as well as my Facebook newsfeed)...my favorite place in the entire world is just 3 hours south of Denver in the Sangre de Cristo mountains outside of Westcliffe. Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp is where I've spent nearly every summer for the last 5 years. The staff is my family and it is as close to home as just about anything for me. They started their first week of camp on Sunday, and within an hour of the beginning of registration were forced to evacuate all 180 people on site, due to a forest fire blazing about 1/4 mile from camp. The staff have been super heroes and have kept camp running for all those kids, basing programing out of the Westcliffe High School gymnasium. The fire is still not contained and the behavior is considered "extreme" but the firefighters are working tirelessly to keep the site safe and as of right now no structures have been burned (Associated Press article).
If praying's your deal, then RTLC needs all you've got! This place is home for so many, and although buildings can and will be rebuilt, a little prayer never hurt anyone :) And if it's not your thing, then please, keep them in your thoughts and keep your fingers crossed for any sign of success any time soon.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Paris va me manquer
What will I miss the most about Paris? Is it that smell of freshly baked breads and pastries every time you walk past a boulangerie? Or maybe it's the long lazy afternoons in Luxembourg Gardens or Champs de Mars. Maybe it's bus rides that take you past Notre Dame and the Louvre. Or it could be breakfasts of pain au chocolat in front of la Tour Eifel. What I do know is that as these spring evenings get longer and warmer, all I want to do is wander along the Seine and profiter of all the Paris is.
These past few weekends have provided some of the most perfect examples. There was the trip the amusement park Foire du Trone, and a ferris wheel ride that took you so high above Paris that you could see the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur from the other side of the city (trop jolie!). And then there have been the picnics involving lots of baguette and cheese and wine on the bridges and the banks of the Seine, with all the quintessential views of Paris. There have been the long walks home in less-than-sober states, and even the time when I was walking home with my roommate Tracee, we heard live music coming from a bar and had to stop. I went upstairs, and the windows were open to reveal the typical French balcony, view of the Seine and the sounds of the Frenchman with his guitar and beautiful voice drifting lazily out of the open doors downstairs, onto the street and then up through the windows. I stood there, soaked it up, and thought how much I will truly miss Paris when I'm gone.
Sure, there's plenty of things that get annoying. Sure there's days when I hate France. When people make fun of my accent or can't understand me. When I get tired of how dirty Paris is, how expensive things are, how rude the people can be, how hard it is to do anything. But those days are far outnumbered and outweighed by the days when nothing could go wrong and everything is just so...Paris. I'll be crushed when I can't walk around and hear French surrounding me. I know I've lived abroad before, but there's just something about French that makes it so much different than anything you could ever hope to imagine.
So as the nostalgia sets in as I charge into my last 4 weeks in the City of Lights, I'll try and profiter of everything the loveliness of Paris has to offer. If there's one thing I've learned from the adventures I've had in all of my travels abroad, it would most likely be to cram as much as possible before the time is up, because there's never enough time and there's always too much to do. So, Paris, let's do this.
Kicking it with Oscar Wilde
Picnics on the Seine
Breakfasts at the Eiffel Tower
Look at the sky
Typical.
These past few weekends have provided some of the most perfect examples. There was the trip the amusement park Foire du Trone, and a ferris wheel ride that took you so high above Paris that you could see the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur from the other side of the city (trop jolie!). And then there have been the picnics involving lots of baguette and cheese and wine on the bridges and the banks of the Seine, with all the quintessential views of Paris. There have been the long walks home in less-than-sober states, and even the time when I was walking home with my roommate Tracee, we heard live music coming from a bar and had to stop. I went upstairs, and the windows were open to reveal the typical French balcony, view of the Seine and the sounds of the Frenchman with his guitar and beautiful voice drifting lazily out of the open doors downstairs, onto the street and then up through the windows. I stood there, soaked it up, and thought how much I will truly miss Paris when I'm gone.
Sure, there's plenty of things that get annoying. Sure there's days when I hate France. When people make fun of my accent or can't understand me. When I get tired of how dirty Paris is, how expensive things are, how rude the people can be, how hard it is to do anything. But those days are far outnumbered and outweighed by the days when nothing could go wrong and everything is just so...Paris. I'll be crushed when I can't walk around and hear French surrounding me. I know I've lived abroad before, but there's just something about French that makes it so much different than anything you could ever hope to imagine.
So as the nostalgia sets in as I charge into my last 4 weeks in the City of Lights, I'll try and profiter of everything the loveliness of Paris has to offer. If there's one thing I've learned from the adventures I've had in all of my travels abroad, it would most likely be to cram as much as possible before the time is up, because there's never enough time and there's always too much to do. So, Paris, let's do this.
Kicking it with Oscar Wilde
Picnics on the Seine
Breakfasts at the Eiffel Tower
Look at the sky
Typical.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Gypsy Tales
It's happened again, as we all knew it would. Blogging is one of those activities that gets tucked away in a corner when anything more exciting or important happens to come up. Although I'd love to say that documenting all activities is something I find amusing, that would be a lie. But to satisfy those who happen to be curious, the last month or so in Europe has been quite a whirlwind. Sometimes I forget that I'm studying abroad in PARIS, considering that I've been everywhere but during the last weeks. I have mixed feelings about the whole situation. On the one hand, I want to get to know Paris better, improve my French, and experience the city where I am "living" for several months. However, à l'autre côté, there's so many places to explore in Europe and with such a limited amount of time here, I want to go everywhere. So that's the dilemma, now here are the tales:
Normandy
Our program took us on a weekend trip to Normandy, and although being stuck on a tour bus with 60 Americans for an entire weekend isn't exactly my ideal traveling situation, the trip was beautiful and absolutely worth it. We had the chance to visit the Normandy Museum, the American Cemetery, Omaha Beach, and Pointe du Hoc, all of which were surprisingly sad yet meaningful. I mean, I had never really thought about World War II in such a personal and human sort of way before and it made it all seem so much more real. The night we spent in the city of Caen was uneventful, although it did include a dinner comprised of massive amounts of the best mussels I've ever eaten and a little too much wine. The following day we went to Mont Saint-Michel, a monastery built on a tidal island connected to the mainland via a natural land bridge which makes it often unaccessible when the tide is too high. The architecture was beautiful, as was the weather which made the trip a great success.
The American Cemetery: Normandy, France
Mont Saint-Michel: Normandy, France
Belgium
The following weekend I went to Belgium to meet a friend from home who is studying in Barcelona. We met in Brussels (after several hours of searching for each other around the city because we had misunderstood one another about which hostel we were staying at and my phone wasn't working!). Brussels was quaint but...unimpressive? I've heard that it's not the best place to go in Belgium, and after walking around the city (which consistently smelled like fried food) for a day, we agreed on this sentiment. I ate some delicious waffles, french fries and chocolate of course so I suppose that made it worth it. We also took the train on Saturday to a smaller city called Hasselt to go to an enormous electronic music concert called Sensation White, which was an impressive amount of fun. Everyone wore white, the venue was gigantic, and the effects were amazing: at one point they handed out neon colored gloves to the 60,000+ attendees and periodically had us bend down, then raise our hands in the air so the venue went from a sea of white to thousands of colored hands.
Sensation White: Hasselt, Belgium
London
I spent the following weekend in London, visiting my friend who is studying there. I absolutely loved London. The city has such a different feel to it than somewhere like Paris but in the best way possible. I was having an extremely hard time getting used to the fact that I could say "Excuse me" instead of "Pardon" on the Tube and I could order in English anywhere I pleased! We saw everything you could really ever want to see in London (Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye, Hyde Park, Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tate Modern Art Museum, the Globe, etc.), went to an Evensong worship service at Westminster Abby, and even saw the London Philharmonic Orchestra on Saturday night (for 4 pounds!). I ate fish and chips of course and absolutely went the the CHIPOTLE in London (I'm a Colorado girl at heart). I could have spent so much more time in London.
Springtime in Londontown
St. Paul's Cathedral: London, UK
Houses of Parliament: London, UK
London Eye: London, UK
Hyde Park: London, UK
Thames South Bank: London, UK
Chipotle: London, UK
Italy
This past weekend I flew to Milan with my best friend Valerie, where we met one of my other friends who is studying in Grenoble, France. Milan was uneventful at best, although we ate some really delicious pizza. It's the fashion/business capital of Italy and not much else, so there wasn't a lot to see there. On Saturday we took the train to Venice, which was beautiful. It's a touristy city, but absolutely worth the trip. The tiny alleyways, streets that dead end in canals, and absence of cars made the city something to see. We wondered and got lost most of the time we were there, ate some more pizza and gelato of course, and laughed at ourselves for the zero Italian we spoke (I learned the essentials: per favore, grazie, prego and "non parlo italiano"). Italian was actually so easy to understand because of the French and Spanish I speak, although communicating was something entirely different.
Venezia, Italia
I've had someone tell me that I am a gypsy-the worst type of person to fall in love with. I suppose the wanderlust in me has been the driving force of my time in Europe, but I'm ok with that. I'll be in Paris this weekend (maybe I'll finally make it to the Louvre?), but then it's off again, to Amsterdam the following weekend and then the Greek Islands for Spring Break. By the time all of that is said and done it will be May, and hopefully I'll spend my last 6 or so weeks in Paris to really enjoy the city, particularly now that spring is upon us and Paris in the springtime...well, you know. A trip to Spain might be inserted in there somewhere as well, we'll see. I'm sorry this was the most monumental blog entry known to mankind, as I have so much to tell with so little time! I love and miss you all!
Normandy
Our program took us on a weekend trip to Normandy, and although being stuck on a tour bus with 60 Americans for an entire weekend isn't exactly my ideal traveling situation, the trip was beautiful and absolutely worth it. We had the chance to visit the Normandy Museum, the American Cemetery, Omaha Beach, and Pointe du Hoc, all of which were surprisingly sad yet meaningful. I mean, I had never really thought about World War II in such a personal and human sort of way before and it made it all seem so much more real. The night we spent in the city of Caen was uneventful, although it did include a dinner comprised of massive amounts of the best mussels I've ever eaten and a little too much wine. The following day we went to Mont Saint-Michel, a monastery built on a tidal island connected to the mainland via a natural land bridge which makes it often unaccessible when the tide is too high. The architecture was beautiful, as was the weather which made the trip a great success.
The American Cemetery: Normandy, France
Mont Saint-Michel: Normandy, France
Belgium
The following weekend I went to Belgium to meet a friend from home who is studying in Barcelona. We met in Brussels (after several hours of searching for each other around the city because we had misunderstood one another about which hostel we were staying at and my phone wasn't working!). Brussels was quaint but...unimpressive? I've heard that it's not the best place to go in Belgium, and after walking around the city (which consistently smelled like fried food) for a day, we agreed on this sentiment. I ate some delicious waffles, french fries and chocolate of course so I suppose that made it worth it. We also took the train on Saturday to a smaller city called Hasselt to go to an enormous electronic music concert called Sensation White, which was an impressive amount of fun. Everyone wore white, the venue was gigantic, and the effects were amazing: at one point they handed out neon colored gloves to the 60,000+ attendees and periodically had us bend down, then raise our hands in the air so the venue went from a sea of white to thousands of colored hands.
Sensation White: Hasselt, Belgium
London
I spent the following weekend in London, visiting my friend who is studying there. I absolutely loved London. The city has such a different feel to it than somewhere like Paris but in the best way possible. I was having an extremely hard time getting used to the fact that I could say "Excuse me" instead of "Pardon" on the Tube and I could order in English anywhere I pleased! We saw everything you could really ever want to see in London (Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye, Hyde Park, Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tate Modern Art Museum, the Globe, etc.), went to an Evensong worship service at Westminster Abby, and even saw the London Philharmonic Orchestra on Saturday night (for 4 pounds!). I ate fish and chips of course and absolutely went the the CHIPOTLE in London (I'm a Colorado girl at heart). I could have spent so much more time in London.
Springtime in Londontown
St. Paul's Cathedral: London, UK
Houses of Parliament: London, UK
London Eye: London, UK
Hyde Park: London, UK
Thames South Bank: London, UK
Chipotle: London, UK
Italy
This past weekend I flew to Milan with my best friend Valerie, where we met one of my other friends who is studying in Grenoble, France. Milan was uneventful at best, although we ate some really delicious pizza. It's the fashion/business capital of Italy and not much else, so there wasn't a lot to see there. On Saturday we took the train to Venice, which was beautiful. It's a touristy city, but absolutely worth the trip. The tiny alleyways, streets that dead end in canals, and absence of cars made the city something to see. We wondered and got lost most of the time we were there, ate some more pizza and gelato of course, and laughed at ourselves for the zero Italian we spoke (I learned the essentials: per favore, grazie, prego and "non parlo italiano"). Italian was actually so easy to understand because of the French and Spanish I speak, although communicating was something entirely different.
Venezia, Italia
I've had someone tell me that I am a gypsy-the worst type of person to fall in love with. I suppose the wanderlust in me has been the driving force of my time in Europe, but I'm ok with that. I'll be in Paris this weekend (maybe I'll finally make it to the Louvre?), but then it's off again, to Amsterdam the following weekend and then the Greek Islands for Spring Break. By the time all of that is said and done it will be May, and hopefully I'll spend my last 6 or so weeks in Paris to really enjoy the city, particularly now that spring is upon us and Paris in the springtime...well, you know. A trip to Spain might be inserted in there somewhere as well, we'll see. I'm sorry this was the most monumental blog entry known to mankind, as I have so much to tell with so little time! I love and miss you all!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
SamasthiWHAT?
Yoga in Paris. Quite the experience to say the least! My roommate Ellie and I found a yoga studio online that's close our apartment and offered a 10 day open pass for 35 euros, so we decided to try it out on Monday night...whether that was a good choice or the opposite is still up in the air!
The yoga studio was adorable, and quite possibly one of the most international places we've been in Paris (it makes sense because I'm fairly certain yoga is a much more American trend than it is French). The manager was a beautiful French man who spoke absolutely perfect English, so we were excited to see what the class would be like. We went into the locker room to find one PACKED room with both men and women changing in the same tiny little space. Surprise number 1 (although it doesn't seem that strange when you think about the fact that bathrooms almost everywhere in France are unisex and nude beaches are the norm...).
Class started while people were still walking in, out and through the room so the "peaceful" vibe that I've always experienced at yoga class at home was definitely lacking. The course was instructed entirely in French, and Ellie and I realized after we had put our mats down in what we thought was the back of the room that we were actually front and center. I was lucky enough to have taken lots of yoga classes in the States, so I could just casually (or not so casually at many points during the class) glance around and figure out what people were doing. Ellie has never taken a yoga class before, so the instructor kept approaching her and trying to get her to fix her positions, to no avail unfortunately.
At the end of the 90 minutes we were sore and more stressed out than we had been before the class even began (seems like taking one step forward and two steps back if you ask us), but we're giving it another shot tonight (although the class tonight is taught in English!)
BeYoga, Paris
The yoga studio was adorable, and quite possibly one of the most international places we've been in Paris (it makes sense because I'm fairly certain yoga is a much more American trend than it is French). The manager was a beautiful French man who spoke absolutely perfect English, so we were excited to see what the class would be like. We went into the locker room to find one PACKED room with both men and women changing in the same tiny little space. Surprise number 1 (although it doesn't seem that strange when you think about the fact that bathrooms almost everywhere in France are unisex and nude beaches are the norm...).
Class started while people were still walking in, out and through the room so the "peaceful" vibe that I've always experienced at yoga class at home was definitely lacking. The course was instructed entirely in French, and Ellie and I realized after we had put our mats down in what we thought was the back of the room that we were actually front and center. I was lucky enough to have taken lots of yoga classes in the States, so I could just casually (or not so casually at many points during the class) glance around and figure out what people were doing. Ellie has never taken a yoga class before, so the instructor kept approaching her and trying to get her to fix her positions, to no avail unfortunately.
At the end of the 90 minutes we were sore and more stressed out than we had been before the class even began (seems like taking one step forward and two steps back if you ask us), but we're giving it another shot tonight (although the class tonight is taught in English!)
BeYoga, Paris
Monday, February 21, 2011
Morning is my favorite time of day...
I think that morning is my favorite time of the day. It's just past 10:00 AM in Paris and I'm sitting out on my balcony wrapped up in a blanket on a beautiful February morning. The sun is shining for the first time in at least a week and it's making the beginning of today so much better.
I'm finally starting to get into the swing of things here. Life seems so much more normal now that I've been here for just over three weeks. I finished my intensive language course last week and start my real class schedule today, so I have a lot more free time during the week to explore Paris. I love to wander and get myself lost only to discover that Paris really isn't that big after all. There are so many different neighborhoods and places to see and little things to find, but it's all so very Paris. I'm so happy to be here and to explore everything that France and Europe have to offer.
My roommate has a French boyfriend and we taught all of his friends how to play beer pong and king's cup the other night. None of them speak English so that was quite the interesting ride, especially when you think about how many of the rules in those games appeared to just be made up so we would win, hahaha. But, as my father so insightfully pointed out, if you can teach somebody how to do stuff like that in French, you can probably do anything :) On Saturday of this week my best friend Valerie and I went to an AWESOME concert in the Netherlands (with over 60,000 people in attendance) and it's having the chance to do stuff like that that makes living in Europe so amazing.
King's Cup rules...French style
I'm going to Normandy in two weeks with my program, then Belgium with some friends, London the weekend after that to visit another friend, and before I know it March will be over! I have two weeks off in April for Spring Break so I'm planning on visiting Amsterdam and then going to Spain and Portugal. I also need to fit in Italy after that and maybe Prague or Istanbul, oh and I'm probably going back to Barcelona in the end of May for a music festival called Primavera Sound.
These next four months are going to go by so fast, it's amazing. I miss home more than I expected, which is understandable because I left a lot of people who I love and care about there, but I'm also so lucky to be here and I can't wait for how many more adventures this semester will bring.
What we can see of Paris from our balcony this morning
I'm finally starting to get into the swing of things here. Life seems so much more normal now that I've been here for just over three weeks. I finished my intensive language course last week and start my real class schedule today, so I have a lot more free time during the week to explore Paris. I love to wander and get myself lost only to discover that Paris really isn't that big after all. There are so many different neighborhoods and places to see and little things to find, but it's all so very Paris. I'm so happy to be here and to explore everything that France and Europe have to offer.
My roommate has a French boyfriend and we taught all of his friends how to play beer pong and king's cup the other night. None of them speak English so that was quite the interesting ride, especially when you think about how many of the rules in those games appeared to just be made up so we would win, hahaha. But, as my father so insightfully pointed out, if you can teach somebody how to do stuff like that in French, you can probably do anything :) On Saturday of this week my best friend Valerie and I went to an AWESOME concert in the Netherlands (with over 60,000 people in attendance) and it's having the chance to do stuff like that that makes living in Europe so amazing.
King's Cup rules...French style
I'm going to Normandy in two weeks with my program, then Belgium with some friends, London the weekend after that to visit another friend, and before I know it March will be over! I have two weeks off in April for Spring Break so I'm planning on visiting Amsterdam and then going to Spain and Portugal. I also need to fit in Italy after that and maybe Prague or Istanbul, oh and I'm probably going back to Barcelona in the end of May for a music festival called Primavera Sound.
These next four months are going to go by so fast, it's amazing. I miss home more than I expected, which is understandable because I left a lot of people who I love and care about there, but I'm also so lucky to be here and I can't wait for how many more adventures this semester will bring.
What we can see of Paris from our balcony this morning
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Le Nouvel An Chinois
So today was the Chinese New Year, and since we live right near the Chinatown of Paris, we went to the parade:
Valerie and Ellie at the parade!
Valerie and Ellie at the parade!
Paris!
So here I am, from the Paris of South America to...Paris? I can't believe I'm abroad again, it still feels like I'm dreaming, living in Paris, but I'm really here!
It's been a whirlwind of a week since I arrived in Paris last Sunday. I'm doing an intensive language program for 3 weeks so I got here and jumped right into orientation stuff on Monday and classes Tuesday. I have class from 9:00-5:00 every weekday, so it's been hard getting used to the idea that I'm actually IN Paris, since I've mostly been sitting in class every day at the University. But I've been getting a hang of the public transportation and I'm kind of getting my bearings in the city (which is surprisingly confusing!) Yesterday though I went to the Eiffel Tower with a girl I met in one of my classes and then we walked along the Seine past a lot of the really famous sites of Paris all the way to Notre Dame. It was beautiful and the architecture was absolutely amazing! Most of the people I've met so far have been here since September, so they've already done all of the "touristy" things, but I'm ok with being a lame tourist for a few weeks at least :)
The rest of the people in my program (I'm one of 3 who are here early for the intensive language class) arrive next week, so that will be nice to have more people to do things with, and I start regular classes in 2 weeks. I'll only have class for 3 hours a day once the language program is over, so I'll have so much more time to explore the city.
I'm living in an awesome apartment with 3 other girls, including my best friend Valerie, so it's great to have her here. I'm excited for the semester to start and to really get into the swing of things, and I also can't wait to travel a bit (I'm already talking about trips to Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Italy, England, and maybe a few other places, I want to go everywhere!). We all know I'm a terrible blogger, but I'll try and keep this kind of sort of up to date! Love you all and miss you!
It's been a whirlwind of a week since I arrived in Paris last Sunday. I'm doing an intensive language program for 3 weeks so I got here and jumped right into orientation stuff on Monday and classes Tuesday. I have class from 9:00-5:00 every weekday, so it's been hard getting used to the idea that I'm actually IN Paris, since I've mostly been sitting in class every day at the University. But I've been getting a hang of the public transportation and I'm kind of getting my bearings in the city (which is surprisingly confusing!) Yesterday though I went to the Eiffel Tower with a girl I met in one of my classes and then we walked along the Seine past a lot of the really famous sites of Paris all the way to Notre Dame. It was beautiful and the architecture was absolutely amazing! Most of the people I've met so far have been here since September, so they've already done all of the "touristy" things, but I'm ok with being a lame tourist for a few weeks at least :)
The rest of the people in my program (I'm one of 3 who are here early for the intensive language class) arrive next week, so that will be nice to have more people to do things with, and I start regular classes in 2 weeks. I'll only have class for 3 hours a day once the language program is over, so I'll have so much more time to explore the city.
I'm living in an awesome apartment with 3 other girls, including my best friend Valerie, so it's great to have her here. I'm excited for the semester to start and to really get into the swing of things, and I also can't wait to travel a bit (I'm already talking about trips to Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Italy, England, and maybe a few other places, I want to go everywhere!). We all know I'm a terrible blogger, but I'll try and keep this kind of sort of up to date! Love you all and miss you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
About Me
- Lizzy Schmitter
- Paris, France
- Someone I love once told me that they love a gypsy: the worst type of person to fall in love with. Whether that is true or not is yet to be proven, although the world is my playground and life is one big adventure.