Rain, rain, go away...

It's been pretty cold and wet around Tours lately.  And then on top of that, I hear from mutti that it's 99 degrees in Chicago, with a heat index around 113!  I think France could use some of that summer heat!

But besides the weather...yesterday I found out my favorite patisserie will be closed from today until August.  I was quite depressed.

BUT THEN!

At the MSU and famille d'accueil party, there were trays and trays and trays of minis of all the patisserie's best treats!  I even found the last minis of my favorite croque monsieurs!  Madam Norris with the save!  So needless to say I ate everything in sight.  Even brought some left overs for my roommates.  But it was nice to meet some of the other host parents and families and also a nice way to thank them for such wonderful hospitality.  Below is my host mom and I and the lil fête.

Only about 9 days left of my study abroad program and I am definitely ready to get back to Chicago.  But not before I take a side trip to Toulouse to visit Thomas and his hometown this weekend.  Getting very excited for that!  I leave on Friday =)

Liberté

I was a lil upset when I didn't get to spend the 4th of July with my family on the beach, eating hot dogs, and watching fireworks.  Although I didn't get my hot dogs, I'd say spending Bastille Day in France was an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. 

First of all, in all good American fashion, I overate to extremes on Thursday.  We started the day off with a pique-nique at a park near the train station.  I treated myself to a Nougat de Tours.  So delicious.

Then after eating a ridiculous amount of food for lunch.  I ate soo well with my host family.  After a wonderful meal, I headed out to the Loire for some feux d'artifice!  They are my absolute favorite part of 4th of July and so glad France has the same tradition we do on our Independence Day!  They were by far the BEST I've seen.  My mouth was wide open the entire time.  I hope I never lose this childish wonder.  I also hope I never forget my first Bastille Day in France.  I doubt I will.

Anticipation!

It's Bastille Day Eve and I just can't wait until tonight/tomorrow.  I'm still sad I missed 4th of July back in the states because it's only like my 2nd fav holiday or something.  It's just so summery and iconic.  But anyway, I can't wait to see what Tours has to offer as for celebrating the French Revolution! (Stay tuned for some pics I'm sure)

Also today, Marisol took me to a cheap stirfry place for lunch!  STIRFRY IN FRANCE! Oh mon dieu! I was so excited!  Put anything in a wok and it tastes 10x better.  The place is called Wazawok and it is parfait.  I was so excited I knew I had to blog about it. 

C'est tout for this one.   I just love food.

First Week of REAL Classes.

WOOF.  Is all I can say.  This week felt like I went back to middle school, except you have the same two profs and the same 15 people in your class All. Day. Long.  Although classes were rough, I managed to fit some fun into the week.  On Monday, we went to Chateau Chenonceau and les caves de Vouvray.  At the chateau we got to row some bateaux!  It was sweet because we could go under the castle.  Then we went to the wine caves of Vouvray!  There we took a brief tour of the caves and the bottling building.  Après all that, we got to try 3 wines that the caves bottle.  They were très delicieux.

 "H" for Henri II and are those "Cs" for his wife Catherine de Medici or "Ds" for his mistress, Diane de Poitiers?  The world may never know.

Monday was also 4th of July!  It felt strange not to be laying on the beach somewhere with a hot dog in hand.  But we managed to find a way to celebrate.  I mean, if it weren't for the French, Independence Day may not exist!

Then on Tuesday, my class had a Wine and Cheese Tasting Class!  I learned what to look for, smell for, and taste in both white and red wines!  It's all about to jambes when it comes to the whites.  They tell you sugar content within the wine.  With reds, you look at the robes: more purples means younger I believe, while a more orange color means it's been aging for a lil while.  The wine guy also taught us the term millésime: a wine year.  Just so everyone knows, 1990, the millésime I was born in, was a WONDERFUL year for french wine. 

This upcoming week I will spending most of my time reading La Place and Vipère au Poing.  Should be a good time...

Double Homesick All the Way

The double rainbow YouTube vid inspired my title today.  (I have to give a shot out to my best bud Joe Allen for showing it to me a lil while back)  While I was in Italie I of course was homesick for the states, my fam, and my friends, but what was weird was that I also homesick for Tours and my SA crew.  I absolutely adore them and this city!  But here's a quick rundown and a few pics of my trip to Italy with Elise and Mike!

We decided to start off the week in Florence!  Our hostel was about 5 minutes away from the Piazza Michelangelo which is set above the city.  So needless to say I woke up each morning with an absolutely breath-taking view.  I died every time!  We saw all three Davids, including the real one, the Duomo, and of course Ponte Vecchio!  So gorgeous.  There was also a mini Fête de la Musique the first night we were there and so we stuck around a lil while to listen to a few bands and DJs.  Not quite as good as the one in Tours, but still fun to shake my booty a lil bit.  I also met up with my roomie, Ali!  We grabbed some breakfast before I left for Venice.  I think it's the coolest thing to see friends abroad!

 
Then we were off to Venice!  One thing we wished we did was spend another day in Venice.  The city was absolutely gorgeous and one you just want to get lost it.  We of course ate some more gelato and took a lovely gondala ride.  We also bought some lovely venetian glass!

 My beautiful, fellow Italy travelers (and the gondala driver in his stunna shades on his cell phone)

 After Venice we headed to ROME!  Oh my gosh Rome was a good time.  We went to the Vatican the first day and didn't realize it was closed!  We waited in line for the special Mass that was scheduled for the day without tickets and felt silly after we found out what was actually happening.  Since there was a special mass the entire museum and basilica were closed so we moved on to the Pantheon, Piazza Nuvona, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and the Colosseum.  The next day we then did the Vatican Museum and Sistene Chapel.  Which, was kind of overwhelming.  Pictures are definitely better than the real thing...except I did like the Final Judgement.  We also treated ourselves to a wonderful dinner complete with a shared bottle of wine.  Mike and I split this delicious pesto pasta and chicken with roasted potatoes.  I died!  It was delicious and of course we grabbed some gelato before we went to the Trevi Fountain at night.  That was definitely my favorite part of Rome.  So romantic (take hints guys) 

All in all it was a great trip with some pretty awesome people.  I am so blessed to have these opportunities to travel to some pretty cool places.  One thing I wish I did was take more pictures of the food I ate.  I could just kick myself for not doing that!

Little boxes on the hillside...

This past weekend I spent a day and a half in Paris!  The weather was kinda dodgy but I had a lovely time.  A few of us went on the Musée d'Orsay/Notre Dame excursion with the institut where Prof Gaverny gave us a rundown of French Impressionism and a brief history of Notre Dame.  She is truly amazing.  What I didn't know was she has a degree in Art History!  She had so many amazing things to say at the museum as well as at Notre Dame.  Unfortunately, I couldn't take any pics in the museum, but I did get to see some awesome Renoirs!

Later in the day we caught up with the rest of the Staters and grabbed some dinner and went to experience the Eiffel Tower at night.  Which I must say I preferred it at night.  Much more romantic and less...metaly.

The next day we woke up early to catch a walk through of the Catacombs!  I was scared at first, but when I finally got used to being 40 m under ground and in a small space, I was in awe.  The opening song to Weeds popped into my head as we reached the bones. 

After the catacombs I planned on eating somewhere near the Eiffel Tower and meeting up with some friends.  We wanted to head up to Sacré Coeur, but since our train left earlier than others, we didn't make and just walked up and down Champs Elysées.  All in all it was a good weekend, but I definitely plan on going back!  Much more to experience.   Did I mention riding the métros was probably my favorite part?!

The Stakes Have Been Raised

Well, more like my standards...if that was even possible.  The other day we took a trip to the châteaux of Azay-le-Rideau and Villandry.  So far Villandry is my favorite and you'll see why in a minute.

But first a lil schpeal about Azay.  This château was home to the François le Premier.  His symbol was the salamander, which I think is SO cool!  Except they were portrayed a lot more vicious back then.  Above one of the fire places in the château there was a carving that had a salamander breathing fire with an inscription in Latin I believe that translated to something along the lines of "I take in fire and breath out water."  But don't quote me.  I really like this saying because it's him trying to create peace within his land as King.  Here are some sweet pics!

NOW onto the GOOD stuff!  I. Am. IN. LOVE. with Villandry!  I don't think I will ever be satisfied in life because I won't ever live there.  I guess the best I could do is either get proposed to or get married there.  A girl can dream right?  I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

I'm off to Paris tomorrow morning for an excursion to the Musee d'Orsay and Notre Dame.  Then I'm spending the night with some ladies and sightseeing some more on Sunday. 

A bientôt!

MTV Cribs: Henri II et Leo Da Vinci Edition

Today we had a day off from school because yesterday was Pentecost.  Yes, the French love any holiday to take off work and school.  So, some of us took a day trip to Ambroise.  There, we ran into some bi-polar weather, but over all I had tons of fun!

The Château above was I believe the first to house French royalty (or something like that).  I took lots of pics of the inside and the petit jardin outside.  Leonardo Da Vinci is also buried there.  But what I think stole the show today was Da Vinci's residence in Ambroise.

Per request by the king, Da Vinci moved to Ambroise.  Between the Château and Da Vinci's house was an underground tunnel so each building was connected so the king could come and visit Da Vinci and I'm sure vice versa.

What I thought was really unique about the Da Vinci house was that after walking through the house (which was pretty small--and you're not really supposed to take pictures of) is the property had a pathway full of interactive stations, per se.  Most of which were models of his inventions/sketches that actually worked!  So we got play, yes like we were 6 again!  The day was super fun.  One of my favorites was the tank he sketched.  The "museum" created it to work similar, but it was more of a merry-go-round where you turned a wheel inside, and the hole thing spun around.  Unfortunately, my camera battery died before we got to the more interactive stations.

Back to school tomorrow, but I'm excited to learn some more about French culture and hopefully practice a lil speaking too.

A bientôt!

Une Semaine

This is gonna be one grand post!  I have so much to share with ya'll.  I've spent one full week in Tours, France and absolutely love this town.  I love exploring the city after grabbing a quick lunch and finding new places to sit and just enjoy my life.  There's a cute park just a few blocks south from my street and it's perfect to run or just hang out in.  Apparently it's a special garden because there are trees there from around the world.  But we saw a couple taking wedding photos (very pretty) and this turtle there! (We named it Kiki)

I've also been splurging every so often and treating myself to some of the French desserts and street food.  What most people get after a night on the town are kebabs.  Not like American kabobs, these are sandwiches that have either shaved lamb or chicken in them with cheese and lettuce.  You can even have french fries inside them with ketchup and mayo and it is très délicieux!  I've also had a tartelette fraise, a croque monsieur (grilled cheese with ham on steroids), and a few éclaire chocolat.

I've also been having a blast with my MSU fam and my host sibs.  We've done some ridiculous things like yesterday our excursion to Chambord was cancelled so we grabbed some champagne and jus d'orange and made some mimosas at a park.  We have so much fun together that we always roll at least 15 people deep.  Yeah, we are those obnoxious Americans, but the french youth love to speak in English to us because they are so fascinated with the U.S.  My prof keeps telling us that they have a dream of the U.S. and want to go there someday, but they obviously don't know how sometimes terrible it is.  I've met a few french high schoolers and they are so wonderful!  Meeting people here is so easy and I can't get enough of it.  I may move here in the future.

That's home ya know: Sweet Tea, Pecan Pie, & Homemade Wine

About to finish up my second full day in Tours and I'm just about settled into my room.  Pics of my room will be up soon!  I live with 5 other students who also attend the institute.  My host mom runs a hotel of some sort for students like us.  She is a great cook, but unfortunately I don't necessarily like what she's been making.  However, last nights dinner was steak and well quite delicious.  They don't eat dinner until 8pm though so that's definitely been something I need to get used to.  My host also has a large garden so most of the produce we eat is very fresh.  But my favorite part is probably the homemade wine we have every night with dinner.

As for navigating around Tours, I can pretty much get anywhere now except back to my house.  I always get confused trying to get home because the entrance is located in an alley!

The first full day we were here, we met at the institute, discussed a few things, and then went out on a scavenger hunt around town.  It was difficult to find some things but I was more trying to enjoy the beautiful weather we had.  Last night, I went out with the group and invited two of my host brothers along too.  I had a great first night out in Tours!  We sat by the Loire (the river to the north) and drank wine and moved on to La Place Plume after that which is a square with a bunch of bars and little eateries around it.

Today it rained, but it was ok because I looked super stylish in my rain boots!  So glad I brought them.  Although, I didn't see any of the locals wearing them...OH WELL!  My feet stayed dry and I was happy about that because after our first class we walked around for a while and bought some more supplies and such.  I just ADORE my professor for my culture class.  She is so animated and is genuinely interested in us and our culture as well.

Taking it easy tonight to catch up on some sleep because I feel a cold coming on.

à bientôt!

Firsty

First blog post.  Here.  Goes.  Nothing!  My blog title and layout are all inspired by Breakfast at Tiffany's.  I watched it last night with mutti and it just speaks to me.  I identify with Holly or Loulou May or whoever she ends up being quite often.  Sometimes I feel like I need a fresh start in a new city way too often.  Mostly because of the experiences I've had with the relationships I've been in.  I often feel just as crazy as Hepburn's character as well.

Enough of that, the real reason why I created this blog is so I can keep my family and friends updated about the trip I'm taking.  I'm studying abroad in Tours, France this June and July.  I hope to travel all over though.  Although I'm an advertising major at Michigan State, I'm taking French classes to hopefully receive a minor in the language.  I don't care as much about the degree or the grades as I do about the experience and mastering the language. 

For now, I've just been preparing for the trip and also recovering from the school year.  I hate to be cliché, but it was one hell of a roller coaster.