Back in the USA

The trip has been over for weeks now, and it still seems like it was yesterday. While I remain a little exhausted from pushing myself to the limits during the trip because I didn't want to waste a minute, the natural high from the trip still has me floating on air a little bit. It helps that I've been working on projects for class because it allows me to constantly escape back to England and France. I still can't believe that I was able to take such an amazing trip!










But honestly, as much as I miss the trip, being back is pretty wonderful too. I had to go to my parents to pick up my two cats, Ramses and Hatshepsut (Hattie), and my parents house on the lake is a little slice of heaven for me and the cats. Life is a pretty crazy while trying to complete the FSU courses and my teaching certification courses. But, the beautiful Minnesota summer helps.

However, before I could even start on my school work, I needed to take care of a big problem. The struggle to get a new computer wasn't exactly what I wanted to do with my time when I got back, but now that it's almost all done (still waiting for the printer), I'm so glad that I did. I love my new little MacBook, and the fact that it is so similar to my beloved eight year old ibook (which was such a little trooper until it died on the first day of the trip) made the transition relatively easy. I do wish that my computer would have died before I left instead of while I was abroad. It was a pretty big struggle to not have my computer work while I was on the trip. But it wasn't meant to be for some reason. While my computer may have come a little late, its still come in enormously handy for the trip. Now, I can enjoy putting my photo book together and relive the trip to my hearts content, and hopefully, I can stay in contact with all of the amazing people that I met on the trip.

It's funny. Merle and I had so many struggles to face in order to go on this trip, and there were times where she or I almost gave up. But, I am eternally grateful that we didn't and that Florida State assisted us with our difficulties. The trip surpassed my wildest expectations, and the struggles were well worth the pay off. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

Plus, now I can proudly put on my resume that I have experience with an array of Web 2.0 application, and if, in the future, I ever start telling myself that I don't have time to something, such as keep up the library blog or learn a new application . All I have to do is remind myself that if I was able to do it during my whirlwind time in London and Paris, it's possible to do it in what will likely be much easier circumstances in the future.

Photo Book

I added a photo book to the blog that chronicles the entire trip. It is in the left bar under the About Me section.

Photo Story

Now that you've read about my trip, check out how the trip was for my travel companion, Shakespeare.

It is 5.1 MB.

Film: The Harry Potter Quest

This is a film about attempting to see Harry Potter in Paris.

It is 4.5 MB.

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Today was the last day of our trip. Tomorrow, Merle and I leave Paris and head out to the airport. Luckily, as sad as I am that it is the last day, it was a great one to send everyone off. We visited Notre Dame, had a tour cruise on the Seine river (which was so pretty) and then had a group dinner. Everyone was serenaded during dinner by musicians, the conversation was fabulous, and the wine was definitely flowing. Since we came to Paris, we haven’t had as much opportunity to be together as a whole group, so the dinner was a great opportunity to do it. It’s crazy how much I am going to miss everyone. I really didn’t come into this experience expecting to form any bonds, but I adore everyone on the trip. We became a strange kind of supportive family, and it hardly seems like I just met everyone three weeks ago (except Merle of course). I’ve gotten used to traveling in a crowd, being crazy busy, and exploring with everyone. I’ve gotten used to the late night talks with Alexis and Michele (best roomies ever!) and our fun adventures. I’ve gotten used to Kat and Nate cracking me up all of the time and to having fabulous waiting in line conversations with everyone. I’ve also gotten used to exploring with Jen and Heather and the crazy fun that always comes with it. I’ve gotten used to so many things here, and it’s going to be a little bit of a shock to the system to have all of this suddenly go away. I’m very excited to go home to see my friends and family and my two little kitty troublemakers, but it is still hard to say goodbye to this experience and everyone involved in it. London and Paris have been amazing places to visit, and the company has only added to how much I have enjoyed each place.

Bastille Day: A Different Day than I was Expecting

Today is our second to last day (and Bastille Day!), and it is the same story as in London. I haven’t seen or done all that I wanted to do. It just isn’t possible, even with a week. Complicating matters a little bit is the cold that I have known that I have been coming down with for days and had been trying to ignore. Sadly, there’s no ignoring it any more. It’s making me a little more tired than I would like, and to my crepe loving sorrow, it is also killing my appetite.

But Bastille Day must go on! We spent the morning visiting Pere Lachaise Cemetery. It felt like it was straight out of Buffy with all of the old tombstones. Most of them were extensive and very elaborate. Some were falling apart, while others were really interesting, such as one that had a person climbing out of it. The grave that I was most interested in seeing was Oscar Wilde’s and happily we found our way to it (thanks Alexis!). It was a really interesting grave site. The Oscar love is very apparent. There are kiss marks all over his tombstone and there is graffiti praising Wilde as well. This was a real highlight.

I had planned two other highlights for the day, going to the Harry Potter opening night and going to the fireworks off the Eiffel Tower and unhappily, one of my hopes was dashed. Merle and I were bounced from one movie theatre to the next searching for a midnight showing of the movie, but because the fireworks were coming up, we had to end our search. I really did want to see it while on the trip, so it is sort of disappointing. Squeezing it in the last day that we’re here may be tricky, but I haven’t given up complete hope yet.

So the night was dedicated completely to Bastille Day instead. It’s funny, I was expecting complete craziness for the day, but really it was just a very nice and relaxing day. I saw more of a party atmosphere last night when Alexis, Merle, Dylan, Heather, and I we went to some free outside performances (anyone who hasn’t experienced French rap by a guy dressed up as the Pope has just not lived yet). Watching the fireworks was great. They were so beautiful as they were shot off of the Eiffel Tower. But, the atmosphere was very serene. We went to the Louvre to watch them, and I felt like I could have been in any small town park watching them, although there were lots of people. There were families and couples all around, and everyone was just really happy to see the fireworks. It was so nice. After there was a carnival near by, and we checked it out. It was the same happy and relaxed atmosphere, and while I had thought it was just a cute little rinky dink carnival at first, it turned out to be a really nice carnival with lots of cool rides. There was even a big log shoot ride.

It may not have been the crazy day that I was expecting, but Bastille Day in Paris is definitely an experience that I will never forget.

First Class Fun in the Fabulous French Countryside

Today was the trip to the French winery, and it was my favorite day in France so far. Paris is interesting, but Epernay, where the winery is located, is more like what I thought Paris would be, although on a smaller scale. It is gorgeous! There are beautiful homes, and gardens, along with cute businesses, all around, and the French countryside is a fantastic backdrop. I felt more relaxed there the second that I got off the train, and everyone else seemed to brighten there too. But before getting to Epernay, we rode on a train and for the first (and possibly last) time in my life, I rode in first class. It was so comfortable.









Everything about the day was great. The pizza place where we ate lunch was fantastic, the gelato place was yummy (watermelon was my favorite flavor today), and running around Epernay and exploring its beauty was just what I needed.













The trip to the winery was great too. After getting some history, we got to go down to the cellar and see where the champagne is stored. It is huge, and the cost of what is stored down there is probably beyond my comprehension. The Minnesota girl in me came out because, even though it isn't hot out, I loved the coolness down there. At the end of our visit, we each got to try two different champagnes before our first class trip back, making for a perfect day in France.