A Very Potter Weekend

Seeing as I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan, it was only natural that I would plan a trip to London conveniently corresponding with the release of the newest movie.  I didn’t go for the premiere, but I just wanted to be in the city of London to see the movie.  Fortunately for me, I have a few friends studying there so I was able to see them at the same time.

Thursday night, my friend Ginny and I took the train to Paris and then caught the Eurostar to London, going under the English Channel (not as cool as we hoped).  We got in to London late and took the tube to our friend Courtie’s flat where she was waiting for us with cider and peanut butter!  I was so impressed by the flat because Courtie and her 5 flatmates found it themselves, since their program doesn’t do that for them. 

The next day, we got up and had peanut butter toast at the flat (a rare luxury for those of us studying in France) and headed toward Oxford Street, which was within walking distance.  We walked along and window shopped and then went into the big department store Selfridge’s to browse.  It’s right up there with Galeries Lafayette as far as being super posh, so we just admired the pretty things and the Christmas decorations.

On my way to Hogwarts

From there, we took a bus (which was of course a double-decker bus) to King’s Cross station to start our Very Potter Weekend with a picture at platform nine and three quarters, and then we took the tube toward Piccadilly to get some afternoon tea.  My friend Carolyn who is also studying in London suggested Richoux for tea, so Courtie, Ginny, and I went there and all ordered traditional tea.  We ate cucumber sandwiches, biscuits and jam, and pastries and were so full by the end of it, but I could definitely make afternoon tea a ritual. 

After tea, Courtie had to go pick up the key for the flat her family was renting for the week starting Saturday, so we went along with her.  Once we got the key we started walking around the block to get a taxi when Harrod’s popped up out of nowhere.  Obviously we went in.  It was decorated for Christmas and so fabulous, I could’ve spent days inside.  We were on a bit of a schedule though, so we picked up some macaroons at Ladurée for Courtie’s family and then did a lap outside to look at the window displays.  The windows were all Peter Pan-themed for Christmas and under the awning of each window, they were playing a different Christmas song.  Nothing like Harrod’s to get you in the Christmas spirit.

oh hello, Harrod's

Once we had gotten our fill of Christmas and pining after enormous diamonds, we went back to Courtie’s flat to grab our stuff and then headed over to my friend Lauren’s place over in South Kensington.  Courtie had to get to bed early to meet her family at the airport the next day, so Lauren was in charge of us the rest of the weekend. 

only slightly obsessed

We caught up for a little bit, and then Lauren, Ginny, and I took the tube over to Piccadilly Circus and walked to Leicester Square to get dinner before Harry Potter.  Since I never managed to eat fish and chips in Dublin, we found a pub nearby so Ginny and I could get a taste of London food and drink some cider.  We headed to the movie theater after dinner for our 9:30 showing of HP, but due to a minor problem with the tickets Lauren ordered online, we had to switch the tickets to midnight.  It wasn’t a big deal since we just killed time in a pub, but I was relieved that we were still able to see it. 

The movie was AMAZING.  There were people dressed up and people would cheer and react to the major scenes in the movie.  I had popcorn (I can’t remember the last time I ate popcorn) and was so glad I was seeing Harry Potter, in London, no less.  I had been waiting for that since I knew I would be abroad and the movie would be coming out.

Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey

Parliament

Saturday, we slept in a little and spent the day sightseeing, with Lauren acting as our tour guide.  We saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Trafalgar Square, which are all within walking distance.  From Trafalgar Square, we took a bus to the Tower of London.  Taking the bus was nice because we got to see more of the city than we would have on the tube.  In the Tower of London, we saw the Crown Jewels and had a great view of the Tower Bridge.  Being there really made me want to read up on more British history, since it was so exciting, with all the beheadings and royal family drama.

Trafalgar Square

Tower Bridge

Tower of London

It got dark around 4, so we left the Tower of London and went to a nearby restaurant for some Asian food (another thing I’ve missed in Dijon).  We ate an early dinner and realized we still had the entire night ahead of us with nothing planned, so we made our way back to Leicester Square to see about getting tickets to a show.  Jersey Boys was our first choice, so we attempted the half-price ticket booths and without luck, went to the theater.  We were able to score 20 pound tickets, all separate, but tickets all the same to that night’s show.  With about an hour to kill, we went to the pub across the street.  I’d wanted to see Jersey Boys forever, so I was so happy we found last minute tickets and were able to see it in the West End!  It was an awesome show, even if I was basically watching it from above.

After the show, we went back to Lauren’s neighborhood and got some frozen yogurt (another thing France is lacking) before heading back to her place.  All of us were too tired to go out, lame I know, but we had to be able to wake up for our trains today.  This morning, we went to brunch at a place called Giraffe near Lauren’s dorm, and then Ginny and I caught the tube to St. Pancras station for our trains back to Paris and then Dijon.

It’s sad to think that London was my last big trip of the semester, but I have Paris with my mom and sisters to look forward to this coming weekend!  Now I just have to start working on my mountain of homework…

À bientôt!

Her Campus

Here's the link to my latest post for Wake Forest's branch of Her Campus.

http://hercampus.com/school/wakeforest/adios-america-bonjour-l%E2%80%99europe-cours-de-culture

Ciao Firenze!

Wake does Florence

River Arno

Last Thursday night, three other girls from Dijon and I said au revoir France and hopped on a night train to Florence, Italy.  My friend Michelle is studying there this semester, so Ginny and I went to meet up with her, while our friend Courtie came from London for a mini-reunion.  Steph and Brittany were on our train, but they were meeting up with other Wake friends.

Our train on the way there might have been one of the most miserable things I’ve ever experienced.  It was stiflingly hot in the cabin and we couldn’t figure out how to control the temperature, and we were an hour late to Florence even though we still got there around 8:30 a.m.  We were so happy to get off the train, and conveniently our hostel was within walking distance from the train station, so we went to meet Courtie and freshen up since we obviously looked like disasters after a sweaty train ride.

 Michelle had school stuff during the day on Friday, so Ginny, Courtie, Steph, Courtie’s friend Iris from her London program, and I did some touristy things.  We started out with a pastry (not as good as France, sorry Florence) and then went to the Galleria dell’Accademia museum to see Michelangelo’s David.  Even though we paid 20 euros for reserved tickets, David was worth it.  He is very impressive.

Duomo

From there, we walked to the Duomo, the domed cathedral and probably most famous site in Florence.  We went inside the cathedral and then climbed up the 414 steps of the Campanile to see some amazing views of the city.  It is such a gorgeous city and so quintessentially Italian, to me.  It was definitely different than France, and it was fun to experience another country for a weekend.  After the climb (where it was made very clear how out of shape I am), we decided to reward ourselves with lunch.  Thanks to a list of things to do in Florence given to me by a friend of a friend, we found a little sandwich shop called the Oil Shoppe where we got delicious paninis.

Duomo view from the Campanile

view of the city

By then, Michelle was done with class, so we met up with her in Piazza della Signoria, where we saw the Fountain of Neptune and Palazzo Vecchio and then went inside the Galleria degli Uffizi, which is one of the city’s most well-known art museums.  It’s housed in one of the Medici family’s former palaces and the collection is composed of art that belonged to the family and donations.  Michelle acted as tour guide and explained some of the importance of the art, so I actually learned something!  We saw works by Raphael, Botticelli, and da Vinci among others.  Working on no sleep, Ginny, Steph, and I headed straight back to the hostel after the museum for a nap.  We had to be on our game for our big Italian dinner and night out.

Fountain of Neptune

Palazzo Vecchio

That night, we met up with some other Wake girls and a couple of their friends from the NYU program for a big family style dinner at a restaurant.  I wish I remembered the name because it was so delicious.  They brought out a big tray of cold cuts like salami and prosciutto, bruschetta, grilled vegetables, and the freshest Caprese salad I’ve ever had.  There’s nothing quite like good fresh mozzarella cheese.  There was of course warm, delicious bread and Chianti, too.  After all the appetizers, they brought out three kinds of pasta, one was a cheesy penne, one was gnocchi with meat sauce, and one was truffle ravioli.  Needless to say, I was ready to burst after dinner, but it was sooo good.  I mean, one of my main objectives for going to Florence was to eat, so I was quite content.   

After dinner, Courtie, Michelle, Ginny, Iris, and I separated from the rest of the group to go to bar that Michelle and her friends like to go to.  We sat outside on a patio with heaters and had a drink; it was so warm compared to Dijon!  Next, we headed down the street to a club called Twice for some dancing.  They were playing good music and we had a great time, but after awhile the creepy Italian men got to be a little much.  Note to European men:  can you leave me alone and let me dance with my girlfriends at your clubs?  Seems to be a constant throughout the continent...

love locks near the Arno

Santa Maria Novella

The next day, we got up and met Michelle by the Santa Maria Novella church close to our hostel to walk to the leather markets in San Lorenzo.  We went to the food markets for pastries first and then browsed all the leather goods for a little while.  I bought a pashmina and some cute leather bracelets but wasn’t brave enough to go for a leather jacket or purse.  After the markets, we went to get some pizza at the little restaurant on Michelle’s street, which of course was delicious.  We headed back toward the center of town for some more last minute shopping and then headed across the River Arno for some gelato at La Carraia (how I made it more than 24 hours before my first gelato, I’ll never know).

leather markets

night view of the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio

a version of the David at the Piazza le Michelangelo

Once we were on the other side of the river, we trekked up to the Piazza le Michelangelo to get another good view of the city.  By the time we got up to the top, it was dark, but the view was still beautiful.  Thankfully, Michelle was there to help point out the famous landmarks and help me figure out what was what.

We took the bus back down to town, went to the hostel to change clothes, and headed to dinner at La Giostra around 9:30 (working on an Italian time schedule).  We’d heard that they have good pear and cheese ravioli, so we were intrigued.  Almost all of us ordered it, and it was to. die. for.  The meal started out with some champagne and a tray of bruschetta, eggplant, and other appetizers on the house.  I had an arugula salad next and then the pear ravioli.  I’ll probably dream about it now, it was so good.  We ended up staying at the restaurant until about 12:30, talking and laughing, and we were all stuffed, so we headed home since Courtie and Iris had an 8 a.m. flight back to London.

Ponte Vecchio

Luckily for those of us in Dijon, our train didn’t leave Florence until 9:30 the next night, so we had another full day.  Steph, Ginny, and I met Michelle for cappuccino and a pastry near her host family’s apartment and dropped our stuff off there since we had to check out of the hostel.  (It was fun to see a real Italian apartment and see where Michelle is living!).  From there, we walked to the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence that now has only jewelry stores on it.  Ginny and I then went to the Palazzo Pitti and walked around the Boboli Gardens.

Palazzo Pitti

Boboli Gardens

view from the top of the Boboli Gardens

We all reconvened at Gusta Pizza, which is supposedly the best pizza in Florence, and I wouldn’t doubt it.  Between five of us (Michelle, me, Ginny, Steph, and her friend Margaret), we split two pizzas and a calzone, and they were so good.  Can’t get better than pizza in Italy.  Since we had some time to kill, we headed back over the river to catch a bus and visit the NYU Florence campus, stopping at Grom for some gelato first, of course.  Michelle and Margaret are both doing the same program, so they gave us a little tour.  The campus is an old estate and is covered in olive trees and is just so beautiful.  It’s hard to believe they take class there every day.  

NYU Florence campus

Persimmon tree on campus

We took the bus back into town and then went to dinner at Quattro Leoni, Margaret’s favorite restaurant, conveniently near her apartment.  We finished our trip with another delicious Italian meal.  I had an arugula salad with avocado, pine nuts, and pesto (awesome) and penne with meat sauce, a perfect way to end the weekend.  After dinner, we stopped by Margaret’s apartment to see it and then walked to the train station, where we were all dreading the long night ahead.

All in all, Florence was absolutely amazing.  I had the best food, got to spend the weekend in a BEAUTIFUL city, and see some Wake friends.  It was fun, too, because I got a good feel for what Michelle’s life in Florence is like after seeing her house and school and visiting some of her favorite spots.  Now I’ll be able to relate to her experience a little more and know what she’s talking about when she tells stories!  I was also relieved to have her around since I know not a word of Italian and she served as translator.

The train back to Dijon wasn’t as terrible since we figured out how to make the compartment cooler, but I still got almost no sleep and was welcomed back to Dijon by freezing cold weather, rain, and a test that afternoon.  I’m pretty much buried in homework right now, but I wanted to get this blog up before I head to London tomorrow (what a life, I know).

I apologize for the length of this post, but hopefully this will sustain you until I have time to report back from Londontown.

Arrivederci!

Foire de Dijon

For those of you who use my blog as a procrastination tool, I apologize for the lack of material in the last week.  Maybe it was a good thing for you?

Last Wednesday (a week ago), I went to the Foire Internationale et Gastronomique de Dijon, which was basically an international food festival.  A couple of friends and I went over right after class to see what was up since we’d seen posters all over town and our teachers and host families had mentioned it as a good cultural thing to do here. 

I was expecting more of a fair-type thing, with booths we could visit and get free samples from.  I was prepared to fill up on free samples of regional food for dinner, but was surprised that it was mostly food stands and little restaurants in one giant room.  There were definitely NOT enough free samples to sustain me for a meal.

We did a lap around, seeing specialties from all over France and from other countries, too, and decided to buy dinner at a little Japanese food stand.  Not exactly French food, but good nonetheless.

Food from the Savoie region (Alps)

Un jour à Paris

After spending a good portion of last week being stressed out about my Wake classes for next semester and our midterms this upcoming week, I decided to escape to Paris for the day on Saturday.  Conveniently, I knew that my friends Molly and Carolyn and Carolyn’s friend Brittany from home would be there (who are studying in Barcelona, London, and Florence, respectively) (we're so worldly!).  I found an 18 euro ticket on the TER, which isn’t quite as fast as the TGV, but I was able to get to Paris for cheap and hang out all day with some Wake friends who I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

I left Dijon at 5:45 a.m. (true devotion) and got to their hotel around 9:15 to meet up for breakfast.  From there, we went to Musée d’Orsay, Jardin des Tuileries, and the Louvre, where I saw the Egyptian section for the first time.  Even though I’ve been to these places before it was great to go with Molly and Brittany who have never been to Paris before.  I got to act as a sort of guide and pretend to know my way around the city.   

After the Louvre, we went to the Longchamp store (a true landmark) and then lunch at a café across from La Madeleine where we all got croque monsieurs (the grilled ham and cheese sandwiches).  We walked to l’Opéra Garnier after lunch and then into Galeries Lafayette to escape the rain for a bit.  The store was incredibly crowded and not much fun to walk around, but it’s decorated for Christmas now and so pretty.  (They’ve been hanging lights around Centre Ville in Dijon, and I can’t wait until they start lighting them up!  I forgot that they don’t have Thanksgiving here, so they don’t have the after-Thanksgiving rule, so I wonder when it’s acceptable to start blasting Mariah Carey’s Christmas CD.)

We went to the Eiffel Tower next, and it was great being with Molly and Brittany and experiencing their awe seeing it for the first time.  It’s so impressive and iconic that the first time you see it, it feels like a dream.  I hope I always have that feeling when I see it.

Pont Alexandre III

Afternoon Nutella crèpes are always a good idea, so we stopped in a café for some hot chocolate and crèpes after the Eiffel Tower.  We then walked to Les Invalides and across the Pont Alexandre III and it was time for me to get to the train station.  I wish I could’ve spent the entire weekend with them in Paris, but it was great to see Molly, Carolyn, and Brittany for at least a day!  Unfortunately, I had to come back today and catch up on homework and attempt to get a little ahead before I go to Florence next weekend!

À bientôt!  

Her Campus

I haven't been the best at reposting the links to my other abroad blog, but here's my latest post for my joint blog with my friend Kate for Her Campus!

http://hercampus.com/school/wakeforest/adios-america-bonjour-l%E2%80%99europe-i-rish-i-were-irish

Nature Weekend

I can’t believe it’s November already!  I only have about a month left in my abroad experience (depressing), but I have a lot of cool things planned for the next few weeks (i.e. trips to Florence and London). 

Lac Kir

This last weekend was spent bonding with Dijon and my host family.  I spent Friday just wandering around by myself since my friends were being lame.  My host mom drove me to Lac Kir, and I power-walked my way around it with all the old couples who were out.  The name of this lake is somehow related to the regional specialty kir, which is a drink made from champagne and cassis (blackcurrant liqueur).

Puits de Moïse (Well of Moses)

From there I took a path back into Centre Ville, stopping first at the Puits de Moïse, and then walked the 30 minutes home, but I decided to take some pics along the way, since I don’t really have much photographic proof that I actually live in Dijon.

Arc de Triomphe...in Dijon

St. Bernard

pretty building and fountain on my walk home

Saturday, I left with my host parents and host sister Alice for their house in the Alps in the town of Chamonix.  More specifically, their house is in Argentière, which is a little village a little further up into the mountains from Chamonix.  The town is a major ski destination since Switzerland and Italy are just on the other side of Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in Europe (not counting anything in Russia).  We heard a lot of Italians in town, and apparently a lot of English people come to Chamonix too. 

house in Argentiere

view from my window

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to ski since there wasn’t enough snow and it’s not ski season yet, but we did some hiking.  After we got there Saturday afternoon and had lunch, we met up with some of my host parents friends that have houses close by to go on a little hike.  It was nice to be out in nature and see some beautiful views of the mountains and glaciers.  I’m mad at myself for not bringing my camera that day.  That night, the friends came over for tartiflette, a dish specific to the mountains that is basically potatoes and melted roblochon cheese and little pieces of ham…aka heaven. 

Sunday, I got up for breakfast (well rested thanks to the time change) and did a little reading for class.  That afternoon, I walked into town with my host parents and one of their friends to do a little tour of the town.  The area reminds me a lot of Vail, Colorado, just a little more French.  Alice met us in town with the dog, Maya (who was super happy to be in the mountains), and we went back home on the bus.  When we got back, we had tea and little shortbready-type cookies and chilled out watching some French TV for a little while.  Even though people talk incredibly fast on TV, I feel like I’m getting a lot better at understanding and now I get what’s going on, I just miss little details. 

view from the back of the house

view along the walk into town

For dinner, we went over to their friends’, Pascal and Béatrice’s, apartment and had duck, potatoes, salad, cheese, and a little cake for dessert…so French.  Afterwards, we all sat in their living room for tea.  This particular couple had lived in the United States, so it was fun to talk to them since they had a better understanding of American life.  On the hike the day before, I talked to Pascal (the husband) about his experiences working in America.  We both found that on the surface, France and the U.S. are very similar, considering that they’re both Western countries, but the underlying values, particularly in the business world, are very different.  It seemed like, as a European, specifically French, Pascal had some trouble assimilating into American business culture and found one company that he worked for very closed off and not very internationally-friendly.  Pascal and Béatrice lived in both Boston and Toledo, Ohio, and although they didn’t say it outright, I got the feeling they did not like Ohio.  Pascal did say that it seemed like the Midwest was not very open-minded.  He found it a lot easier to relate to East Coasters since many of them have had more experience in Europe and have traveled more.  I think it’s fair to say that people living on the East Coast are more exposed to “culture,” but I think it’s definitely a big city vs. small town mindset.  It is true that Midwesterners love Amurrrrica though.

Chamonix

Kansassy made it all the way to France!

We left Chamonix this morning in order to get back for lunch with Mimi, my host dad’s mother.  It wasn’t in the original plan to leave as early, but my host dad forgot that he told his mom she could come over for the holiday lunch (it’s All Saints Day).  There was some minor family drama, but it didn’t bother me in the least, since I’m used to being rushed on vacation (right, Dad?)  Two of my classes for tomorrow are canceled, so for now, I’m going to be like the French and take advantage of my temps libre (free time).