Hopefully there will be a few more catch-up posts to come (I still have to write about my beautiful trip to the French Riviera) but here I am sitting in the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, and I may as well write about my last day in France as it's happening.
Yesterday, after a check-out meeting with my landlady and a last visit to the program office to do some last minute errands, Ali, Molly and Emily brought me to the train station to see me off. It was a pretty surreal day, and very weird to be leaving my apartment for the last time. We said some hurried tearful goodbyes and tried not to make each other cry by crying. It's weird not to know when I'll see them again, but hopefully I will be able to take a trip to Minnesota someday soon or they will all take a road trip to Boston.
I had a pretty relaxing train ride to Paris, and then maneuvered my to big bags onto the 63 bus towards Louise's. I'm sure it was like something out of a movie, watching me try to stand up on the bus while I was trying to get off. The only downside to bags with four wheels is that they have a habit of rolling around on jerky busses.
We had a delicious dinner at a restaurant downstairs from the apartment with Louise, Charlie and Charlie's step-father, Norm. I tried Millefeuille for dessert, which means a thousand papers (really layers) and was full of creamy delicious-ness.
I forced myself to stay up as late as possible, watching British tv shows with Louise, and then went to sleep for my last night in France.
This morning was lazy, since I have an afternoon flight. Once I had everything together, I took a cab to the airport bus stop and set off for CDG. I have successfully made it through security and am now waiting at my gate for about 2 more hours till my flight takes off.
There are so many emotions going on in my head right now I'm not even sure how I'm feeling. So sad to leave this life and these amazing people behind, but I can't wait to see Josh waiting for me at Logan in a few short hours. Only one more minute on the free wifi, so I better post this. Thanks for reading!!!
xoxo Holly
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Semi Marathon in Nîmes
Back in February, when I was working out with no foreseeable goal, my friend Ali suggested that we train for and run a half marathon while we were in France.
On May 1st, the day finally arrived. After training a lot, but with no idea whether or not it would be enough, we headed to Nîmes for their 20th annual half marathon. We took an early train, and arrived a few hours before the race actually started, to make sure we could get through check-in and get warmed up in time.
At first we thought there weren't a lot of people, but it turned out we were just there extra early, as people started filing in slowly but surely. The biggest shock was when a couple hundred members of some French militia/army/regiment trotted in wearing tiny shorts and tank tops. We ended up running most of the race with two of them, and it turned out a lot of them were international and they were all required to run the race.
Anne went ahead of us right away, but Ali, Trisha and I stuck together for almost the whole time. The first few miles I had some stomach cramps, but at the first water stop I realized how much a small sugar cube can do. It gave me just the kick I needed and I hit my stride for the rest of the race. Apparently I trained better than I thought I had, because the race felt really good, and I came in right around my goal of under 2:10 at 2:06! It was a little bit surreal finishing a 13 mile race. I never really thought I could run that much, let alone enjoy doing it.
To top things off, we got awesome quick-dry shirts, bottles of wine and olive oil, soap and crackers. And of course lots of free bread and cheese and oranges at the end!
After beers and croque monsieurs at a little brasserie by the train station, we headed back to Montpellier for a lazy, relaxing afternoon.
On May 1st, the day finally arrived. After training a lot, but with no idea whether or not it would be enough, we headed to Nîmes for their 20th annual half marathon. We took an early train, and arrived a few hours before the race actually started, to make sure we could get through check-in and get warmed up in time.
At first we thought there weren't a lot of people, but it turned out we were just there extra early, as people started filing in slowly but surely. The biggest shock was when a couple hundred members of some French militia/army/regiment trotted in wearing tiny shorts and tank tops. We ended up running most of the race with two of them, and it turned out a lot of them were international and they were all required to run the race.
Anne went ahead of us right away, but Ali, Trisha and I stuck together for almost the whole time. The first few miles I had some stomach cramps, but at the first water stop I realized how much a small sugar cube can do. It gave me just the kick I needed and I hit my stride for the rest of the race. Apparently I trained better than I thought I had, because the race felt really good, and I came in right around my goal of under 2:10 at 2:06! It was a little bit surreal finishing a 13 mile race. I never really thought I could run that much, let alone enjoy doing it.
To top things off, we got awesome quick-dry shirts, bottles of wine and olive oil, soap and crackers. And of course lots of free bread and cheese and oranges at the end!
After beers and croque monsieurs at a little brasserie by the train station, we headed back to Montpellier for a lazy, relaxing afternoon.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Saint-Guilhem-le-désert
For the last free excursion through our program was to the ancient city of Saint-Guilhem-le-désert. Because it is so isolated in a tiny valley surrounded by mountains, it has not changed very much in hundreds of years and is still a quaint, old-fashioned town of about 250 people. It was recently voted one of the most beautiful towns in France, so it was sad that it was an overcast day, but it was still very pretty and fun to walk around the little alleys and see all of the old architecture.
We started off the day by taking a tour of the city with a really nice tour guide. He showed us the abbey and the biggest plane tree (looks like a sycamore) in France.
We were on our own for lunch and then got to wander around a little bit. We took a small hike up one of the hills outside of the town and found some really gorgeous views, and then explored some of the boutiques selling French goods from the region. All of the store owners were so proud of their heritage and a lot of them made the crafts themselves.
Next we went to a cave outside of the city and had a tour of the inside. Since I went to a cave in Ardeche with mom and Nick it was a little bit less exciting the second time around, but still pretty mind-blowing. It was actually pretty different from the other one I saw, and had more different sections. Unfortunately the tour went on for a little longer than I would have hoped, but for the most part it was really beautiful, especially when they played a light show lighting up the biggest chamber.
After the caves we went to visit the Pont du Diable, a famous bridge outside of Saint-Guilhem. We were supposed to go swimming, but it was too cold, so we just visited the gift shop and skipped rocks in the river before getting on the bus and heading back to Montpellier.
Wonderful to see such a pretty little town and wander around the tiny, twisting streets. Also a really nice time hanging out with lots of different friends in our last couple of weeks in France.
We started off the day by taking a tour of the city with a really nice tour guide. He showed us the abbey and the biggest plane tree (looks like a sycamore) in France.
We were on our own for lunch and then got to wander around a little bit. We took a small hike up one of the hills outside of the town and found some really gorgeous views, and then explored some of the boutiques selling French goods from the region. All of the store owners were so proud of their heritage and a lot of them made the crafts themselves.
Next we went to a cave outside of the city and had a tour of the inside. Since I went to a cave in Ardeche with mom and Nick it was a little bit less exciting the second time around, but still pretty mind-blowing. It was actually pretty different from the other one I saw, and had more different sections. Unfortunately the tour went on for a little longer than I would have hoped, but for the most part it was really beautiful, especially when they played a light show lighting up the biggest chamber.
After the caves we went to visit the Pont du Diable, a famous bridge outside of Saint-Guilhem. We were supposed to go swimming, but it was too cold, so we just visited the gift shop and skipped rocks in the river before getting on the bus and heading back to Montpellier.
Wonderful to see such a pretty little town and wander around the tiny, twisting streets. Also a really nice time hanging out with lots of different friends in our last couple of weeks in France.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
A little France for Dad and Paris with Louise
Dad and I took a train from Barcelona to Montpellier, so he could see my city and my apartment and where I've been living for the past four months (wow, four months...eeee!).
We got here in the evening, so had a nice dinner at one of my usual restaurants and then went to bed. The next morning (we only had one full day in Montpellier) we had a lazy sleep-in and then made our way out into the town. There aren't a whole lot of touristy things to do here, so we mostly just walked around the streets and enjoyed the sun. We made a quick but unsuccessful visit to the mall to look for sandals for dad, and then walked through the Antigone, which is the new part of town, towards the river. It was a nice quick visit, and fun to show Dad around the town a little bit, and for him to get to see my home in France.
The next morning we got on a train to Paris. It's a really easy trip, only 3.5 hours to Gare de Lyon, and from there we took a bus to Louise's apartment near les Invalides. Dad only had the afternoon in Paris, his flight left the next morning, so we decided to do the most iconic Parisian thing and go see the Eiffel Tower. This was also his first trip to Paris since he was 12 years old.
After leaving the Tour Eiffel, Louise walked us around her neighborhood and showed us some of her favorite things in the vicinity including a really amazing building front which I, unfortunately, did not get any pictures of. Then we went to a brasserie so that Dad could have a cup of French coffee.
We got dinner on Louise's street in a nice little restaurant, they both had pasta with mushrooms (I swear the French have hundreds of different types of mushrooms) and I got a really yummy steak with frites and we shared a creme brulée for dessert.
Dad got up really early for his plane, so after Louise came back from taking him to a taxi to find the airport bus, we both had a nice long sleep in. I went for a quick run (in the final two weeks of training for my half marathon) and got ready to head out into Paris.
We had an exciting belated birthday shopping day, which mostly consisted of being shocked by the prices of dresses at Printemps and encountering some very strange fashions. We also ventured out of the department store and found some more reasonably priced clothing.
For dinner we went to a really nice restaurant with lots of courses that included some delicious oysters (I just recently discovered my love for them) covered with tiny pears, salmon, cheese and soufflé. It was fun to have a real fancy French meal, since I don't encounter those very often, and we had a great time catching up and chatting.
On Saturday we did a little bit more clothes shopping, as well as food shopping for a small dinner party Louise was throwing for me later. That evening three of her friends came over, two ex-pats living in France and one hilariously wonderful French-Brazilian 80+ year-old woman. We ate paté and olives and lots of delicious appetizer-like foods and had a really great time chatting and laughing. Louise and I finished off the night by watching a few episodes of a thrilling murder-mystery show.
Sunday was my last day in Paris, and we had a pretty lazy day. We had lunch at a sushi restaurant, actually a pretty big chain in France who just opened up their first shop in New York City, and then mostly just hung around the apartment for the afternoon. My train left at 9pm, so I slept most of the way home and then went straight to bed on my return to Montpellier.
All-in-all it was a really great vacation, very different from my two weeks in February and a much less exhausting type of travel. So nice to get to spend the weekend with my godmother enjoying Paris, even if it did rain everyday.
We got here in the evening, so had a nice dinner at one of my usual restaurants and then went to bed. The next morning (we only had one full day in Montpellier) we had a lazy sleep-in and then made our way out into the town. There aren't a whole lot of touristy things to do here, so we mostly just walked around the streets and enjoyed the sun. We made a quick but unsuccessful visit to the mall to look for sandals for dad, and then walked through the Antigone, which is the new part of town, towards the river. It was a nice quick visit, and fun to show Dad around the town a little bit, and for him to get to see my home in France.
The next morning we got on a train to Paris. It's a really easy trip, only 3.5 hours to Gare de Lyon, and from there we took a bus to Louise's apartment near les Invalides. Dad only had the afternoon in Paris, his flight left the next morning, so we decided to do the most iconic Parisian thing and go see the Eiffel Tower. This was also his first trip to Paris since he was 12 years old.
After leaving the Tour Eiffel, Louise walked us around her neighborhood and showed us some of her favorite things in the vicinity including a really amazing building front which I, unfortunately, did not get any pictures of. Then we went to a brasserie so that Dad could have a cup of French coffee.
We got dinner on Louise's street in a nice little restaurant, they both had pasta with mushrooms (I swear the French have hundreds of different types of mushrooms) and I got a really yummy steak with frites and we shared a creme brulée for dessert.
Dad got up really early for his plane, so after Louise came back from taking him to a taxi to find the airport bus, we both had a nice long sleep in. I went for a quick run (in the final two weeks of training for my half marathon) and got ready to head out into Paris.
We had an exciting belated birthday shopping day, which mostly consisted of being shocked by the prices of dresses at Printemps and encountering some very strange fashions. We also ventured out of the department store and found some more reasonably priced clothing.
For dinner we went to a really nice restaurant with lots of courses that included some delicious oysters (I just recently discovered my love for them) covered with tiny pears, salmon, cheese and soufflé. It was fun to have a real fancy French meal, since I don't encounter those very often, and we had a great time catching up and chatting.
On Saturday we did a little bit more clothes shopping, as well as food shopping for a small dinner party Louise was throwing for me later. That evening three of her friends came over, two ex-pats living in France and one hilariously wonderful French-Brazilian 80+ year-old woman. We ate paté and olives and lots of delicious appetizer-like foods and had a really great time chatting and laughing. Louise and I finished off the night by watching a few episodes of a thrilling murder-mystery show.
Sunday was my last day in Paris, and we had a pretty lazy day. We had lunch at a sushi restaurant, actually a pretty big chain in France who just opened up their first shop in New York City, and then mostly just hung around the apartment for the afternoon. My train left at 9pm, so I slept most of the way home and then went straight to bed on my return to Montpellier.
All-in-all it was a really great vacation, very different from my two weeks in February and a much less exhausting type of travel. So nice to get to spend the weekend with my godmother enjoying Paris, even if it did rain everyday.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Barcelona
I spent most of my second, two-week break in Barcelona with Dad. We met in the train station (he flew in from New York and I took the train from Montpellier) and walked a few blocks to our first Air BnB apartment. Dad recently discovered airbnb on a trip to Colorado. It's basically like couch surfers but more credible. People all over the world share their apartments/houses/guest houses with other people through the website for varying amounts of time.
Our first night we stayed with Enrique. We barely even met him, as he had to go to work pretty soon after we got there, but it we had a nice room, and a shared bathroom and kitchen with our host. After we settled in, we went for a walk around the neighborhood to explore a little bit, eventually finding some Paella and tapas for dinner (2 most popular dishes in Barcelona).
The next morning after a nice sleep-in (Dad was still on EST) we found our way to Klaudia's our Airbnb host for the rest of our stay. She is a young Polish woman who lives with her boyfriend and teaches English in Barcelona. They have a fairly big apartment, and discovered airbnb as a way to make some extra money and use the extra bedrooms in their house. It was very nice, and had a wonderful terrace off the back that had just finished renovations the day we got there.
For our first real afternoon, Klaudia sent us for a walk in a park nearby, which was really beautiful. Then we walked along the beach for awhile, although we were followed by a very ominous looking thundercloud, so we decided to go find some food and shelter.
We had pasta and pizza for dinner, needing some comfort food, I guess and it never rained. We were concerned about the dark clouds, so we asked the waiter to put us under a roof, instead of out in the middle of the square, but the clouds never hit the courtyard where we were and it stayed sunny the whole time.
After dinner we went up to the top of the Christopher Columbus tower that gave us a view from up high of all of Barcelona. We also went to the mall that is in the middle of the harbor. It's amazing how much has been built up right on top of the harbor!
For our second day, Klaudia suggested we take the funicular/gondola/cable car from the harbor to another park up on a hill. We waited for awhile in line, but eventually got up in the tower to another amazing view and then in the little car that went on a cable across the city. We arrived for a small lunch of Paella and wandered around what we figured out was the old Olympic park from when Barcelona held the Olympics in 1992. At the edge of the park is a huge art museum that almost looks like a mosque from far away, with big domed roofs. The architecture of the museum was almost as amazing as the art inside it.
Kaudia had told us about the "magic" fountains below the art museum, but we didn't totally understand what she meant until we were walking away. Right around 7pm, a long row of fountains started to turn on one by one. Then larger fountains up closer to the museum turned on and eventually the giant one in the middle started. They played a montage of Disney songs as the fountain put on a show and there were hundreds of people watching.
After we watched two rounds of the fountain (the show goes off every half an hour starting at 7) we went in search of food. We found some yummy tapas, and then headed back towards the fountain, hoping that once it got dark the show would include lights. Unfortunately, on our way there we got caught in a torrential downpour and got stuck in a mall. We tried to wait it out, but eventually decided just to head back to Klaudia's instead.
The next day was our Gaudi day. Gaudi is a spanish architect, inspired by nature, who designed some really wonderful and totally original buildings in Barcelona. First we went to the park where he lived for part of his life and designed some buildings, bridges and other structures. It rained here too, but we found refuge and ate lunch while we waited for it to stop. It's pretty hard to describe the Gaudi park without actually going there, so here are a few pictures that don't even do it justice:
After Gaudi's park, we went to see his incredible cathedral, the Sagrada Familia. This cathedral is so complicated that it is still under construction. It has 18 towers, and is covered with stained glass and facades so intricate that it's understandable why its construction has taken so long. We spent a really long time inside, just staring up at the ceiling. It is seriously amazing, and again, photos don't do it justice, but here are a few. The pillars are designed to look like trees.
For our last full day in Barcelona, we took a train outside of the city to Montserrat, which means serrated mountain. We took a tiny train up the side of the mountain (it got really steep at the end) to where there is a big monastery that has become sort of a small touristy town at the top of a mountain. We followed a hiking trail to one of the many chapels that are scattered throughout the mountains and visited the cathedral in the monastery as well. It was nice to get away from city life and tons of tourists, and the views were stunning. Although it wasn't warm, the sun did stay out for the whole day, so we warmed up hiking up and down the slopes of the mountains.
The next morning, before heading out on the train, we stopped at a market down the street and wandered around to all the stalls. We bought a few things, but were mostly just there for the experience. So many smells and colors and different amazingly fresh looking foods. That's something I will seriously miss when I go home. Markets in the states just aren't the same...
Our first night we stayed with Enrique. We barely even met him, as he had to go to work pretty soon after we got there, but it we had a nice room, and a shared bathroom and kitchen with our host. After we settled in, we went for a walk around the neighborhood to explore a little bit, eventually finding some Paella and tapas for dinner (2 most popular dishes in Barcelona).
The next morning after a nice sleep-in (Dad was still on EST) we found our way to Klaudia's our Airbnb host for the rest of our stay. She is a young Polish woman who lives with her boyfriend and teaches English in Barcelona. They have a fairly big apartment, and discovered airbnb as a way to make some extra money and use the extra bedrooms in their house. It was very nice, and had a wonderful terrace off the back that had just finished renovations the day we got there.
For our first real afternoon, Klaudia sent us for a walk in a park nearby, which was really beautiful. Then we walked along the beach for awhile, although we were followed by a very ominous looking thundercloud, so we decided to go find some food and shelter.
We had pasta and pizza for dinner, needing some comfort food, I guess and it never rained. We were concerned about the dark clouds, so we asked the waiter to put us under a roof, instead of out in the middle of the square, but the clouds never hit the courtyard where we were and it stayed sunny the whole time.
After dinner we went up to the top of the Christopher Columbus tower that gave us a view from up high of all of Barcelona. We also went to the mall that is in the middle of the harbor. It's amazing how much has been built up right on top of the harbor!
For our second day, Klaudia suggested we take the funicular/gondola/cable car from the harbor to another park up on a hill. We waited for awhile in line, but eventually got up in the tower to another amazing view and then in the little car that went on a cable across the city. We arrived for a small lunch of Paella and wandered around what we figured out was the old Olympic park from when Barcelona held the Olympics in 1992. At the edge of the park is a huge art museum that almost looks like a mosque from far away, with big domed roofs. The architecture of the museum was almost as amazing as the art inside it.
Kaudia had told us about the "magic" fountains below the art museum, but we didn't totally understand what she meant until we were walking away. Right around 7pm, a long row of fountains started to turn on one by one. Then larger fountains up closer to the museum turned on and eventually the giant one in the middle started. They played a montage of Disney songs as the fountain put on a show and there were hundreds of people watching.
After we watched two rounds of the fountain (the show goes off every half an hour starting at 7) we went in search of food. We found some yummy tapas, and then headed back towards the fountain, hoping that once it got dark the show would include lights. Unfortunately, on our way there we got caught in a torrential downpour and got stuck in a mall. We tried to wait it out, but eventually decided just to head back to Klaudia's instead.
The next day was our Gaudi day. Gaudi is a spanish architect, inspired by nature, who designed some really wonderful and totally original buildings in Barcelona. First we went to the park where he lived for part of his life and designed some buildings, bridges and other structures. It rained here too, but we found refuge and ate lunch while we waited for it to stop. It's pretty hard to describe the Gaudi park without actually going there, so here are a few pictures that don't even do it justice:
After Gaudi's park, we went to see his incredible cathedral, the Sagrada Familia. This cathedral is so complicated that it is still under construction. It has 18 towers, and is covered with stained glass and facades so intricate that it's understandable why its construction has taken so long. We spent a really long time inside, just staring up at the ceiling. It is seriously amazing, and again, photos don't do it justice, but here are a few. The pillars are designed to look like trees.
For our last full day in Barcelona, we took a train outside of the city to Montserrat, which means serrated mountain. We took a tiny train up the side of the mountain (it got really steep at the end) to where there is a big monastery that has become sort of a small touristy town at the top of a mountain. We followed a hiking trail to one of the many chapels that are scattered throughout the mountains and visited the cathedral in the monastery as well. It was nice to get away from city life and tons of tourists, and the views were stunning. Although it wasn't warm, the sun did stay out for the whole day, so we warmed up hiking up and down the slopes of the mountains.
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