NYC Takes the Cake Apparently...

    I came to Europe for an adventure, but also to open my eyes to new cultures and people. This was an escape from what I knew and the life I had become all too accustomed to. All of us from the US thought that the other kids at our school would be, at the very least, impressed with our courage to travel to another continent, leaving behind family and friends mind you, to attend a foreign school and experience their culture. We didn't expect to continuously hear how stupid and ignorant Americans are on at least a bi-weekly basis. While I by no means claim to be more enlightened or beyond their intelligence,  I do know that I am competent enough to realize I am not stupid or ignorant. Surprisingly enough I have actually heard more slurs against other races and cultures than I have in the US. Another realization that I've come across is how few people know where states are in America. Many Europeans give Americans a hard time for not knowing where certain countries are, but they are just as guilty as we are. While our states may fly under one united flag, we each hold distinct and different values from one another and I have not once seen a European recognize that.
     While I can often stand being called a typical American, I cannot stand the flack thrown my way for not visiting NYC yet. Yes, it may be a wonderful and vibrant city housing an impressive 20 million some people, it is by no means as glamourous to me as visiting European countries and cities. While I would love to visit it someday, I just haven't had the opportunity to fly across the country yet. After hearing how dumb I am for not visiting NYC in my 20 years, I ask them if they have visited every major city in Europe (a continent, as mentioned earlier, much smaller than the US alone) and the answer is often times 'no.' So to all of my new worldly friends reading this, please stop the annoying harassment it's getting old fast. 

The Opposite of Getting Arrested?

     Easter day was filled with magical surprises, but the best part of the day included a boat ride from Parisian cops on the Seine river. While your first thought may be "who she finally got arrested," the outcome is the complete opposite in fact. Let me explain to you how this all happened. So my friend meets a guy out one night on the town. He ends up being a river cop and offers to take her and a friend out on the boat to look at the monuments (Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, Bir Hakeim, etc etc) lit up at night. They stupidly did donuts in the bay and let us drive the boat too :) Can't believe how professional the police are in France...

Red Lights and Van Gogh Sites

     After hosting my two friends in Paris for the weekend, we hopped on the train to Amsterdam at 5 in morning. Directly after dropping off our bags at the hostel, we got in line at the Anne Frank Museum. The museum was centered around the rooms that the Frank and van Pels families went into hiding. I cried. end of story.
      After the museum we went and got our favorite Jewish treat--bagels and cream cheese to commemorate our tour. Then a pit stop at a coffee shop that hosted an Ocean's Twelve scene. We walked around the city for the rest of the day only stopping for dinner and a Heineken of course (the brewery is in Amsterdam and pretty much owns the city with its name plastered on every corner).
      The next day we did some more walking and found what was supposedly the best Doner Kebab stand in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, we were mislead. Then we we went to the Van Gogh museum for a few hours. I was surprised because often times I am not moved/touched/affected/what have you by art, but felt in tune with his work. Maybe because many scenes can be attributed to his stays in Paris and the south of France and are easily recognizable.
      My friends left early in the morning on the 20th so I walked around the city aimlessly until 2 in the afternoon when my train left. Surprisingly I made it back to Paris safely and on time.

Amsterdam takeaways:
1. If someone sexually harasses you that is staying in your hostel, it is nearly impossible to get them kicked out.
2. The red light district is entertaining to walk through, not so much for the women in the windows, but for the creepy men who are actually purchasing their services.
3. Amsterdam has friendlier people than Minnesota.
4. One may only smoke in their own house or a coffee shop

Hosting in Paris

      I recently had the pleasure of hosting my two good friends Alison and Lauren. They hail from Seville, Espana and were ready for some old fashioned fun in Paris (museums, site seeing, and the such). We spent the first day enjoying the Louvre by slowly making our way to the Mona Lisa through the sweaty crowds and then to Napoleon's apartments. After leaving the Louvre, we walked  through the Tuilleries, to the Champs-Elysses, and finally to the Arc de Triomphe. We ended our day with a baguette, cheese, and hard salami.
      Day two was a slow day, but included my first climb of the Eiffel Tower. The view was quite fascinating, but I still enjoy Paris from the Sacre Coeur more. Later on we went to Notre Dame and then to Isle Saint Louis for some Bertillion ice cream.
     Day three consisted of a short train ride to Chateau de Fontainebleau, which is well known for housing many kings and members of the royal families. The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) was signed here by Louis XIV as well as the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1807) by Napoleon and Charles IV. Finally, Napoleon was stripped of his powers here by the 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau, and also exiled him to Elba. The palace was almost as grandiose as Versailles, but much less crowded.
     On our ride back we ended up getting stuck at one stop for an hour and a half. Still not completely clear on why, but something along the lines of another train was stuck or in a crash at the stop ahead of us. With the alternative being a 100 Euro cab ride back to the center of Paris, we decided to stick it out in the musty train car.
     When we finally made it back we climbed to the top of the Sacre Coeur and enjoyed the beautiful view of Paris for awhile and then began our hike across town (35 min) to dinner at Plein Soleil. We ended our night with a light show at the Eiffel Tower.

Senior Year Here I Come

     Today marks the last day of my Junior year of college. I've signed up for classes (and can actually graduate on time) and gave my final presentation. Maybe this is too early to start reminiscing about college, but it is a bit unbelievable that three years have already gone by. Now I've an entire summer ahead of me with a continent almost entirely unexplored and I plan to make the most of it. I'm trying to find something to work on though so that I don't go crazy (first summer without a job in 5 years). That being said, any ideas to flex my entrepreneurial or marketing skills that I've been paying to acquire?

Finals Week

     It's finals week aka lets find ways to procrastinate. I thought we were bad in Madison, but Paris presents so many more opportunities to tear ourselves away from our work. Take for example our picnic under the Eiffel Tower on Saturday or maybe our new eagerness to find cheap flights on Ryan Air for our summer trips. Even our workout schedules are improving (roommate ab workouts on our excruciatingly hard tile floors).  That being said, I can't complain about studying because it's the first time any of us have had to read for more than 20 minutes at a time since arriving :)

Channeling Hemingway and the Dead

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."-Ernest Hemingway


       Recently, I have gotten back the 'lets explore Paris' feeling and have done a few touristy things to compensate for my lack of earlier effort. My first stops were really hard. I had to sit in a cafe and eat cheese and drink coffee and wine while writing in my journal and enjoying friends' company. Still surprised I survived. I know you're wondering how and why is that exploring Paris, right? Well my friends, these two cafes that I went to are famous for hosting some of the world's most intellectual (which beats doing homework at my apartment).


Les Deux Magots hosted Oscar Wilde, Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Verlaine, and of course, Ernest Hemingway.


Cafe de Flore, next door, hosted Jean Paul Sartre, Picasso, and Apollinaire


       The next stop on my tour de Paris were the catacombs in the 14th arrondisement. We walked down stairs for about 15 minutes until we reached the caves. The tour takes you through underground tunnels lined with skulls and bones 10 feet deep. The cherry on top was the water dripping from the ceiling on us ha. I guess thats what you get for disturbing the dead.
        The last, but not least, stop on my journey was the France v. Croatia football game at Stade de France. The game was great, especially because 1. the Croatian fans started a fire directly below us and 2. Martin Solveig filmed his music video for "Ready to go" during halftime.