le prochain mois

Oh boy, it's been forever! Where were we? Okay, April 5... Well, April 6 was Tommy's birthday, I sent her a present when I got home from Germany, I hope she got it.
The week of the 6 was nothing too special, just classes as usual. Though there was a wine and cheese tasting at the IIEF (where I go to school) Wednesday night so I went there and boozed it up (haha) with some of my International friends.

Friday, April 10, I went with Maia, Ashton, and Alla for a petit bike trip to Germany! Strasbourg is about 5 minutes from the Rhin. We met at Ashton's to borrow her host parent's bikes then headed out. The path went through a forest (that kind of reminded me of Champoeg/Tilikum) then we got to the Rhin and ate some lunch (cheese and baguettes, of course). We biked along the Rhin for the rest of the time. First we ended North until we got to a bridge, where there was also an ice cream stand so we stopped and had a little snack. Then we crossed the bridge into Germany! By this time it was really hot out and we were pretty far away from Strasbourg but we pushed on through. We decided to bike all the way down to the Pont d'Europe, where Obama and other important world leaders took a photo during the NATO summit. After going through some more countryside along the Rhin, and coming through Kehl, we crossed the bridge. So after at least 50km we were pretty bushed and made our way back into Strasbourg to get home. On the way back we saw the hotel and pharmacy that had been burned down by protestors during the NATO summit. That was a crazy sight!

The next day we left for Paris with the group from L&C and the students from Kalamazoo. When we got there we chose our hotel rooms and then had free time until we met back up with the group later. Some friends and I decided to get crêpes and sandwiches and enjoy them in le Jardin du Luxembourg. It was so beautiful, with rows of trees and a giant wonderful fountain. After enjoying the sunshine in the garden we met at the hotel to go to the Louvre.
I'm sure you've heard about how immense the Louvre is before... but it's true. That place is HUGE!!! We hit up the big things: Egyptian mummy things, the Mona Lisa, Napolean's apartments, Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Venus de Milo, all that good stuff... That night we went to a play (La Cantatrice Chauve) and had Indian food for dinner.

The next morning was Easter and we went to Notre dame for mass. That was certainly a new experience! There was all this standing up and sitting down and singing gregorian chants, and priests marching up and down the aisles. It's interesting to see the traditions of a religion you're not familiar with. Kind of surreal. Later we went to Musée d'Orsasy, which I loved! That's where they have all the impressionist works: Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Degas... My favorite painting was Monet's "Maisons du parlement, Londres (1904)." Afterwards I went with Ashton to the Rodin museum where we saw his amazing sculptures, including The Thinker. In the evening we met with the group for dinner: Sushi. An interesting choice for Easter dinner in France, but most else was closed or booked full.

Monday we saw the Opéra Garnier. That building is amazingly exquisite! We had a nice tour and then were allowed a private visit into see the stage. There is an amazing chandelier with hung from a ceiling painted by Chagal. The tour guide explained how this new painting was controversial because people thought it didn't fit the feeling of the rest of the Opéra, but I loved it. That night was our last so we had a delicious French dinner. Afterwards we went out and drank wine on the Seine and checked out a few Parisian bars, boy are they expensive! That night we got up early to go to the train station, and in my rush out the door I forgot my train ticket in the room so I had to buy a new one at the station :(


Well, the week after was classes again as usual (and Kendall's birthday!) I'll dedicate another entry to my epic bike trip.