The wedding was something out of a movie. Seriously. It was comparable to four weddings and a funeral. The women and their hats are something else too. If people wore hats in the States like the French do they would be laughed at in the face and told to go to the circus.
The église (I will give you the name later because I forgot it) was close the Chartres and it was gorgeous and luminous and there were at least 700 people there. Oh and they throw multiple bouquets (and right after the marriage at the entrance) and I caught the second one. I think old ladies caught the other 2.
The reception was at a castle and there was champagne everywhere and food everywhere (très gourmet) and then I sat at a table with a bunch of cousins. They tried to speak English with me a few times (to practice I guess) and their accents were insane. There was however, one girl cousin who had lived in Australia for 4 years and studied English since she was 3 and also travelled to England often and I couldn't tell any accent at all (not even British or Australian) when she spoke. She is 16 and it makes me sad that I didn't start learning french at 3. Swear by my words- if I have kids one day (I'll admit that with age I may change my mind) my children will be brought up bilingual. Language is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful tools/gifts in the world. Communication is a beautiful thing.
Vivent les langues!!
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Fromaladie
We are on the Land Tour (LT from now on). I'm going to explain the title of this entry. Fromage= cheese Maladie= sickness. Fromaladie is the over consumption of French cheese and the awful feeling that comes after that consumption. The whole group is experiencing it and it feels like eating a sack of rocks.
We are currently visiting the Loire region. We visited Chateau Blois and Chateau Chambord yesterday and then ate at a beautiful restaurant and drank lots of wine and ate lots of cheese and then we arrived at the hotel which is super nice and I love it and I'm very contente that we are staying here again tonight (it is in Tours). Oh, I know that Chateau Chenonceaux is my favorite castle of all time. If I become the next Bill Gates I will buy it from the French government and hold parties there for my friends and family and of course people could still take tours but they won't have to pay anymore- I want this to be free for the world!
Today, we sort of got to sleep in, meaning 7:45 and then we left for Chateau d'Azay le Rideau. I like the Renaissance castles because they all have moats. I love moats. I guess when you're an American you think castles don't really exhist- they are only in Disney movies. I do however, want to know where all the "closed off" doors lead to- I usually try to open them hoping someone has forgotten to keep them locked and secure, but so far no luck.
Back to the fromaladie- the food is à la profusion (tons tons tons of it) and so is the wine but we have requested that from now on the "cheese plate" be cancelled because if we didn't demand this we would all come home weighing at least 500 pounds. Today we had Kir Pétillant (my favorite drink) and then Feuille de Saumon Fumé maison et ses toasts, Cuisse de Canard à l'orange (amazing!) et ses Pommes Noisettes (little balls pototoes that are fried and delish) then Brie and un lit (bed) de salade then an Omelette Norvégienne Vanille Café au grand Marnier(not an omelette but an ice cream cake covered in merange and then lit on fire). So imagine how you would feel after eating all that (it is extremely rude NOT to finish your plate in France). In the end, I've decided I'm going to start being rude. I can't do this anymore (and its only the 2nd day!)
Tomorrow we are visiting Périgeux. Google it!
I do have one complaint. Traveling with a group of people with MULTIPLE personalities and mutliple levels of maturity is not always "amusant." The next time I come to France (I'm hoping this will be after I graduate college as a "cadeaux" to myself, even if I have to take out another student loan) I would prefer to come with just one other person (and 4 tops).
Je vous aime et je vous embrasse.
We are currently visiting the Loire region. We visited Chateau Blois and Chateau Chambord yesterday and then ate at a beautiful restaurant and drank lots of wine and ate lots of cheese and then we arrived at the hotel which is super nice and I love it and I'm very contente that we are staying here again tonight (it is in Tours). Oh, I know that Chateau Chenonceaux is my favorite castle of all time. If I become the next Bill Gates I will buy it from the French government and hold parties there for my friends and family and of course people could still take tours but they won't have to pay anymore- I want this to be free for the world!
Today, we sort of got to sleep in, meaning 7:45 and then we left for Chateau d'Azay le Rideau. I like the Renaissance castles because they all have moats. I love moats. I guess when you're an American you think castles don't really exhist- they are only in Disney movies. I do however, want to know where all the "closed off" doors lead to- I usually try to open them hoping someone has forgotten to keep them locked and secure, but so far no luck.
Back to the fromaladie- the food is à la profusion (tons tons tons of it) and so is the wine but we have requested that from now on the "cheese plate" be cancelled because if we didn't demand this we would all come home weighing at least 500 pounds. Today we had Kir Pétillant (my favorite drink) and then Feuille de Saumon Fumé maison et ses toasts, Cuisse de Canard à l'orange (amazing!) et ses Pommes Noisettes (little balls pototoes that are fried and delish) then Brie and un lit (bed) de salade then an Omelette Norvégienne Vanille Café au grand Marnier(not an omelette but an ice cream cake covered in merange and then lit on fire). So imagine how you would feel after eating all that (it is extremely rude NOT to finish your plate in France). In the end, I've decided I'm going to start being rude. I can't do this anymore (and its only the 2nd day!)
Tomorrow we are visiting Périgeux. Google it!
I do have one complaint. Traveling with a group of people with MULTIPLE personalities and mutliple levels of maturity is not always "amusant." The next time I come to France (I'm hoping this will be after I graduate college as a "cadeaux" to myself, even if I have to take out another student loan) I would prefer to come with just one other person (and 4 tops).
Je vous aime et je vous embrasse.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Barcelona in a nut shell:
My uncles invited me to Barcelona for a weekend and I agreed to go- although it was a really hard decision to make- seriously you people have no idea what I have to go through.This is what I know about it now:
1. They speak Catalan (not Spanish) and super freakin fast
2. The monestir de Montserrat (serrated mountain) is one of the most amazing views I have ever seen- and they have monks and the monks make chocolate (but its spelled xocolat or something ridiculous like that). The highest peak is 4,055 ft.
3. Gaudi architecture is like taking PCP or some other hallucinogenic drug- without actually having to take them. It's mind blowing and modern and unexpected and like pop rocks on your tongue and all over your body and roller coaster I love the world good. I think that adequately explains it anyways.
4. Cavas, the spanish Champagne is very tasty.
5. They eat lots of food and they start dinner at 10 PM. Me no likey this.
6. The Princesa Sofia Hotel, where my uncle had his convention is one of the nicest hotels I have stayed in. Their breakfast brunch is like Willy Wonka's factory but with eggs and meat and fruit and churro filled pastry- oh and fresh squeezed orange juice. I highly recommend it.
7. At La Rambla- the huge walkway filled with vendors and shops and probably 75% of Barcelona's total population, they sell lots of birds and they pack them all into one cage and they also have men dressed up as who knows what.
8. There was a street performer that looked just like Pierre, my sisters boyfriend. He was highly entertaining.
9. gelato is yummy.
I had a really great time and most importantly I got to spend it with my uncles who I rarely get to see.
bye mes amigos
1. They speak Catalan (not Spanish) and super freakin fast
2. The monestir de Montserrat (serrated mountain) is one of the most amazing views I have ever seen- and they have monks and the monks make chocolate (but its spelled xocolat or something ridiculous like that). The highest peak is 4,055 ft.
3. Gaudi architecture is like taking PCP or some other hallucinogenic drug- without actually having to take them. It's mind blowing and modern and unexpected and like pop rocks on your tongue and all over your body and roller coaster I love the world good. I think that adequately explains it anyways.
4. Cavas, the spanish Champagne is very tasty.
5. They eat lots of food and they start dinner at 10 PM. Me no likey this.
6. The Princesa Sofia Hotel, where my uncle had his convention is one of the nicest hotels I have stayed in. Their breakfast brunch is like Willy Wonka's factory but with eggs and meat and fruit and churro filled pastry- oh and fresh squeezed orange juice. I highly recommend it.
7. At La Rambla- the huge walkway filled with vendors and shops and probably 75% of Barcelona's total population, they sell lots of birds and they pack them all into one cage and they also have men dressed up as who knows what.
8. There was a street performer that looked just like Pierre, my sisters boyfriend. He was highly entertaining.
9. gelato is yummy.
I had a really great time and most importantly I got to spend it with my uncles who I rarely get to see.
bye mes amigos
Going to the chapel...
This saturday 9 of us went to Chartes and there just happen to be a medieval/renaissance festival going on. The French take these festivals très serious. The "acteurs" we're playing all sorts of instruments and walking around on stilts and jousting and tending to animals (there was one really nice looking cow). They were also selling an assortment of products and some medieval costumes. I'm not really sure who was going to buy these, as the French don't exactly celebrate Halloween like we do. The cathedral was beautiful and they were holding a musical practice inside and it was nice to hear people sing. The windows are the best part- the colors are so bright and alive in contrast to the rest of the decorations.
Last wednesday we visited Auvers-sur-Oise where Van Gogh painted and died and was buried- this is starting to sound like the Lord's prayer. The room he died in was so little and contained nothing- it was very somber. The town has done a nice job displaying his artwork about. For example, we were walking in a field and then all of a sudden you'll see his painting there- and you get to see exactly what he saw as he painted and his adaptation of it.
This wednesday we're going to the Louvre- as Brian put it "the disney world of museums." Except I think this will be less hellish.
I not even going to apologize for my lack of updates on this blog- I'm starting to think of it like one of those "finding a dollar in your jean pocket" situations- it's nice but totally unexpected.
This thursday we have another birthday party coming up- I think we're going to the tapas restaurant in versailles and then to Paris for ice cream near Notre Dame friday night.
Oh yes, I'm going to a wedding this saturday with my parents. It is for the daughter of my mother's cousin's daughter. I am apparently sitting at the "younger persons table" which the cousin informed me contains all guys. Great. As most girls my age would be thrilled at the opportunity- I'm just hoping its not akward and that they serve good champagne.
Even better, sunday I'm going to the family's hunting camp to socialize with all the women while the men hunt. This is going to be my second time at a hunting camp. The first time, I think I fell off a 4 wheeler.
I have to say, I love France. I think most Americans think that people come over here and are reminded how great our country is...but I think a few of us come over here and are reminded of all the things we don't like about it. While I must admit there are certainly some things I miss (dryers, driving, and family) I think I am going to feel a little emptiness when I'm back home.
(I guess I'll need some extra christmas presents to make up for it:)
Last wednesday we visited Auvers-sur-Oise where Van Gogh painted and died and was buried- this is starting to sound like the Lord's prayer. The room he died in was so little and contained nothing- it was very somber. The town has done a nice job displaying his artwork about. For example, we were walking in a field and then all of a sudden you'll see his painting there- and you get to see exactly what he saw as he painted and his adaptation of it.
This wednesday we're going to the Louvre- as Brian put it "the disney world of museums." Except I think this will be less hellish.
I not even going to apologize for my lack of updates on this blog- I'm starting to think of it like one of those "finding a dollar in your jean pocket" situations- it's nice but totally unexpected.
This thursday we have another birthday party coming up- I think we're going to the tapas restaurant in versailles and then to Paris for ice cream near Notre Dame friday night.
Oh yes, I'm going to a wedding this saturday with my parents. It is for the daughter of my mother's cousin's daughter. I am apparently sitting at the "younger persons table" which the cousin informed me contains all guys. Great. As most girls my age would be thrilled at the opportunity- I'm just hoping its not akward and that they serve good champagne.
Even better, sunday I'm going to the family's hunting camp to socialize with all the women while the men hunt. This is going to be my second time at a hunting camp. The first time, I think I fell off a 4 wheeler.
I have to say, I love France. I think most Americans think that people come over here and are reminded how great our country is...but I think a few of us come over here and are reminded of all the things we don't like about it. While I must admit there are certainly some things I miss (dryers, driving, and family) I think I am going to feel a little emptiness when I'm back home.
(I guess I'll need some extra christmas presents to make up for it:)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
