Entry 12

Salut! So I'm thinking this is going to be my last blog entry because I'll be back in the states Sunday! It's bitter sweet. I miss everyone at home a lot, but my host family is amazing, I have made some great friends here, and France in general is such an incredible place. So I got over my sunburn from Cannes. Nothing else really went on last week. Emma, Casey, Matt, Kristen and I went to the fair one night. We went and had dinner then on the way to the fair we stopped at an ATM machine so I would have some money for the fair. I put in my card, put in my code, entered the amount of money I needed, and then the machine turned off. I was thinking to myself... "awesome.... really great.... what the heck! Turn back on!!". So I have no debit card now.... which I guess is good for my dad... but not so much for me. The fair was fun except we went on this ride that pretty much shook my brain until I thought I was going to have permanent brain damage. I'm sure that ride couldn't have been regulation. We left after that because we all had horrible headaches. Friday morning we got up really early and headed on a tour bus to St. Tropez. Our group was about 50 people. We stopped in this little town and went to a nougat factory. Nougat is a candy of the area. We watched a demonstration on how they make it and then of course bought a ton of candy for the bus. After that we went to St. Tropez. It was the prettiest area of the French coast I have seen so far. We walked along the beach and bought ice cream. Then we hiked up to this old castle on the top of the island. We also saw them filming some TV show there. It is a very cool city. Its small, but really wealthy and everything is very fancy. Then we got back on the tour bus and headed for Nice. We got there around dinner time. After dinner we bought some wine and went and sat on the beach for the rest of the night. Well, before that, we went to a bar which turned out the be a very gay bar... so because the guys were feeling uncomfortable we left and headed for the beach. On the beach we encountered this Tunisian man who could hardly walk. He really just wanted us to listen to the song he made up about how horrible France was and how amazing his country was. He sang to us that the beaches in France were crap because they were made of pebbles and if you wanted to see a real beach you needed to cross the ocean with him and go to his home. So that was sufficiently entertaining. The next day we woke up and headed straight for the beach. We stayed on the beach from 11am to 5pm. It was a gorgeous day. Emma and I went in the water for about point two seconds. It was the coldest water I have ever been in. Nice and tan for the evening... we went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant. After dinner we had more gelato and walked around the old part of Nice. Sunday, we got up, had an amazing hotel breakfast, and headed for the tiny city of Eze. Eze is a really old city that sits perched on the top of this mountain that over looks the water. Not that many people live there and you have to hike up to it by foot because there isn't room for cars on the streets. We took a tour of the perfumery at the base of the city and saw where they make all sorts of french perfume and soap. Then we explored the city and walked around the exotic garden at the very top of the mountain. It was an amazing day and a great last trip in France. This week I have been just trying to enjoy Grenoble. I took my camera with me running because I want to remember my running path... I know that's kind of stupid, but its just so incredible here and I'm really going to miss it. Monday night my host parents had a bunch of their friends over. We had a really good dinner that started with champagne and ended with an amazing pear tart. It was really difficult to understand them because everyone was talking at once. Isabelle's best friend was in town visiting for the week. She was very nice to me and I had a good time talking to her. Wednesday night we went to El Tex Mex with everyone for our last group dinner. My host sister Daphne came with me. It was really fun and I think she had a great time. Everyone this summer is going to love her. Tonight API is having an gathering for the students and our families. Isabelle and I are going to go. Then tomorrow night my friends and i are all going out to a bar together one last time. Saturday morning I am leaving for Paris where I will spend one night and then Sunday get on the plane to come home! Its going to be hard saying goodbye to everyone, especially my host family, but I can't wait to see everyone in AMERICA! If anything exciting happens between now and then, I'll let you know.... if not.... Ciao!

Entry 11

Salut! After school on Thursday, Emma and I took the 5:30pm train to Cannes on the Cote d'Azur. We got there at about 11pm...So we just decided to take a train to the hotel and call it a night. This way we would have lots of energy for our first day at the beach. I woke up at about 8:30am Friday morning and decided to take a shower. So i turn on the shower and the shower head goes crazy. It soaks the entire bathroom which included me in my pajamas and my plugged in cell phone. So that was an awesome way to start the day. Emma and I went to breakfast in this little garden room in the hotel and ate an amazing continental breakfast while watching it rain out the windows. So the only thing you can do when you are at the beach and it is raining... is shop. We started shopping and realized we needed some cash so we went to an ATM and tried my debit card. It didn't work. So we went to three more and none of them worked for mine or Emma's card. Then we went to a store and tried my credit card. Also didn't work. So I get on the phone with Visa and they tell me there is a problem with Visa for foreign people in Europe. So now we are stuck with no money, no beach, and its raining. Awesome. We toured this pretty church that over looked the Mediterranean and then went to lunch. A few hours after lunch our cards started working again. We decided to pass the afternoon in a movie. We went and saw Goodbye Bafanna which is a really good movie and if you have the chance you should go see it. That night we had a three course meal at this authentic south France restaurant. It was amazing and that meal alone made up for the rainy day. Saturday morning, it started off rainy, but cleared up around 12. We spent the day laying on these beach chairs at a beach front restaurant. They brought us drinks and lunch to our chairs... rough life, I know. After the beach we hung out at this lounge bar and I was really thinking I was going to see someone famous because this place was so swanky. We ate dinner at this place with really good mussels and a waitor who was in love with Emma and I. He even tried to feed us our desserts.... it was really odd. Then we went to go see that movie about Truman Capote. It was weird and kind of depressing. Sunday, it was beautiful all day. We went to the new port and checked out all of the big boats and then we spent the rest of the day on the beach just like Saturday. Our train home was at 6:30 so we got back home late to Grenoble tired and sunburned. It was an amazing weekend. The south France coast is incredible. The culture is really cool and the scenery is unlike any coast I've seen. Next weekend we are going back with API. We are going to St. Tropez, Nice, and Eze. I can't wait. Then the weekend after that I'm coming back to Texas! I miss ya'll and can't wait to see you! Ciao!

Entry 10

Salut! Once again its been a while since I have written anything. Yesterday, April 10th, was the first day of spring in Grenoble.... I decided. It was 70 degrees and absolutely beautiful. All the trees are starting to bud and everything is that fresh spring green. In all of the public squares the gardens are filled with tulips. Needless to say it is amazing here right now. Ok...two weekends ago, I went to Barcelona. Matt, Glendon, and I rented a car and drove. We got there Friday night and met up with one of Matt's fraternity brothers at our hostel. Hostel Maritima... should be called Hostel hole in the wall. It was the grossest place I have ever stayed. That's what I get for letting the boys reserve the hostel. Nothing worked. We had a private room which was a prison cell with beds. The bathroom might has well have been right next to the reception desk because if you had to go to the bathroom/shower you had to walk past everyone. There was absolutely no privacy, everything was under construction, and it was filthy. However, we were in a good location. The first night we went out to eat and had the traditional Spanish meal of Paella and Sangria. That night we experienced a true Spanish discotheque. We danced to techno music until 5am.... needless to say it was quite an experience. On out walk home, this guy came up to Matt's friend Ryan and started this Spanish soccer chant. He put his arm around him and started hopping around. I looked over at some bystanders who were all pointing at their pockets. I looked at Ryan and the guy had one hand in Ryan's pocket trying to pickpocket him. I ran and put myself in between the two of them causing the guy to run off. Yeah that's right.... I saved the day. The next day we had lunch at an out door cafe and then started to walk down to the beach. That was the last bit of nice weather we had the rest of the time. It started raining so we had to take refuge in the mall. The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Barcelona mall. Some guy tried to sell us umbrellas. After giving us the umbrellas, he ran away before getting his money because the police pulled up. He later found us and made us pay him.... it was a little weird. That night we went to dinner, ate paella again, and then went to a hookah bar for the rest of the evening. The next day we got up early and went and saw the sights of Barcelona in the rain. I don't mean a little rain... I mean deluge. We ended up visiting this wax museum close to the hostel just to get out of the rain. I had never been to a wax museum before and I thought it was cool, but kind of freaky. That night we ate Paella yet again.... I'm a big fan... and my old friend from high school who lives in Madrid now came to meet up with us. She was on spring break and it was awesome because I hadn't seen her in about 4 years. Monday, we got up and went to the Olympic Village. It was beautiful. Once again it was miserably raining... so we decided to go ahead and head home. It wasn't the best weekend for sight seeing, but I was in good company and we had a really awesome time. I think Matt and Ryan were a little bummed out because they were supposed to go sky diving while we were there... but the weather just wouldn't cooperate. Last week was uneventful. We had dinner at Emma's house with her host sisters. We ate Raclette which is a french cheese. You heat it up in this thing that sits on the table and once its hot you pour it over vegetables and potatoes. It was amazing. I was supposed to go with my host family Saturday to their lake house, but I had a flu like thing Friday and Saturday. Saturday night, I went to Easter mass with Emma and her host family. It was kind of a long service, but really awesome and beautiful. There was lots of singing and lots of candles. Easter morning, I went with my host sister Alexia to meet up with her family at the lake for the day. We took a train to this little town where her cousin picked us up and we drive to lake Bouget.... the biggest lake in France. It was amazingly beautiful and their house is an incredibly old country home. On the inside, it looks like it should be a museum. All the furniture is really old and there are about 15 bedrooms. I have never seen a house like that. I had lunch with about 15 french people. We ate tons of food and lots of deserts. After that we had an Easter egg hunt and they had bought me some chocolate eggs, etc. It was very nice. We spent the day relaxing and sitting in the sun. They all talked to me in French and some of them tried to talk to me in English. The favorite thing to ask me was about all sorts of American TV shows that they watch. After dinner, I rode back to Grenoble with Alexia and her cousin. So far this week, I have just been enjoying the sun. There is a carnival right now in Grenoble that we went to. It was a lot of fun. We ate churros, cotton candy, and went on rides... all the things you used to do at carnivals when you were about 12. This weekend I think I am off to Cannes with Emma. Cannes is a small town on the Riviera. I am very excited for the beach! Miss you all! See you in two and a half weeks! Ciao!

Entry 9

Salut! Ok seriously... the weather needs to make up its mind here. The week after my parents left it got really cold. I woke up one morning and didn't want to get out of bed because my room was so cold. Then I looked out the window to see it was like a blizzard outside. Being from Texas and fascinated by snow... I jumped out of bed and went to a coffee shop for a cafe and an amazing snowy morning. So it was great for one day. Then I was sick again of the cold. We didn't go out a lot last week because of the cold and rain. My host sister taught me how to dance rock. Its kind of like swing dancing, but there are more steps before each turn. It was really fun and I am glad I am really bonding with her because she is coming to live with me this summer for a month. I helped her parents buy the plane ticket on continental.com. That was interesting because I was trying to explain all the policies etc. Friday, Emma and I took a bus to Lyon where we caught our Easy Jet flight to Madrid. Easy Jet.... well its cheap. The airplane resembles a hooters on the inside. All white and orange. The flight attendants are all dressed in orange. Our pilot thought that you landed the plane by doing a nose dive. Hmmmm. So it was cheap and a little sketchy, but we got there. When we arrived in Madrid, we took a cab to our hotel. Its a huge city. A little like New York. Our cab driver was trying desperately to tell us about all the things we were passing, but Emma nor I speak any Spanish. I know hola and bueno. Thats not really enough to get you around Spain. I had the "I have no idea what you are talking about" look on my face the entire weekend. Once we put our stuff in the hotel we headed out for an authentic Spanish meal. We ended up at the TGI Fridays across the street having a burger. I know I know... pathetic... but sometimes you just need a taste of home. It was incredible. After that we shopped a little and waited for Matt to get in. Matt got in around 11pm and left his bag in the taxi which he chased down the street with no success. The reason we came to Spain was to meet up with Matt's mom who was visiting Matt's cousin because she goes to school permanently in Madrid. So we met up with Matt's cousin and her Spanish boyfriend. They took us to a bar to "pre-party" before the clubs opened up at 3am. Apparently they usually end the night around 8 or 9am... and the really hard core people go to the clubs that open at 8am and stay open until 1pm. We definitely didn't make it that late. Around 4am we were spent. The next day we walked around the beautiful park in Madrid. We took row boats out on the lake and Matt and his little cousins got a caricature. Then we went to Museo del Prado which was incredible. Of course after the stimulating Museum visit we had to shop again. So we did. That night we went to dinner with Matt's family and then went to bed because it was daylight savings time and we were losing an hour. Emma and I had to catch our flight at 7:40am. We slept through our 5am wake up call and woke up when the hotel called and told us our cab was there. Before I knew it we were back in Grenoble and I slept the rest of the day. This week has been warmer and relatively uneventful. I have been running a lot by the river near campus and that has been nice. This weekend me Matt, Glendon, and one of Matt's friends from college are going to Barcelona. I will have to let you know how that goes. Miss you all! Ciao!

Entry 8

Salut! Its been about two weeks since I've updated this... my bad. Its been a really good two weeks because my mom was here and then my dad and brother came. My mom and I had a good week of shopping and hiking to the Bastille. One day I took her to these picnic tables at the top of the Bastille and brought a picnic lunch. She had a great time. Then we decided it was necessary for me to skip school on Friday and go to Paris with her. I wanted to surprise my dad and brother at the airport and we wanted to shop in Paris on Friday. Thursday night, my mom came to dinner at my french host family's house. It was very nice and she had a blast speaking french with them and enjoying a traditional french meal. We started with wine in the parlor and then moved to the kitchen. We had a traditional meal of potatoes called Gratin Dauphinois. After the main course we ate bread and cheese and then ended the meal with ice cream with raspberries on top and a cafe. It was a great evening and my french family really like my mom. Friday morning we went shopping in Paris. It was great.I bought a little french dress and didn't have to worry about getting a phone call from my dad saying I was spending too much money. We went to dinner at on of the top 10 most trendy restaurants in Paris called the Budda Bar. It is a Japanese restaurant close to Place de la Concorde which is beautiful at night. We had an amazing evening and ate very good sushi/Japanese food. Saturday morning we got up in a hurry to get to the airport on time. My mom didn't want to make my dad and brother wait at all. I said we should probably check to see if the flight was on time, but she insisted we leave so we wouldn't be late.... needless to say the flight was 3 hours delayed so my mom and i spent a lovely day in the airport! It was worth it though when my dad and brother got there. We went to the hotel and I bought Stephen a crepe which he loved. Then we went to the Arc de Triumph and watched the sunset from the top. We also took a boat tour on the Seine and then went and ate dinner at a traditional french restaurant. The next day we went to the Eiffel Tour and I convinced my family to walk the stairs to the top. I think it was a little difficult for them. haha. It was a beautiful day... about 70 degrees and sunny. We ate lunch outside at a cafe and then caught the train to Grenoble. Monday we hung out in Grenoble and hiked to the Bastille. Tuesday, we went skiing at a place called Meribel. It was a little warm for skiing and the conditions weren't great, but the scenery was beautiful and we had a nice lunch at the top of the mountain. On the way down from lunch my mom fell and slid on her back down an entire slope. It looked really funny and I was laughing really hard. I feel bad now because the next day she went to the doctor and found out she has a little fracture in her tibia. So I am the worst daughter ever. My mom has been really positive about it because she got to experience it all speaking french. Thursday we went to Mont Blanc for the day. We took the tallest gondola in the world to the highest peak in Europe. I can't put in words how incredible it was. It was really scary riding to the top and once we were there it was freezing and you were above all of the other mountain peaks. We had lunch up there and then hurried home for dinner with my host family. That was quite an experience seeing as my dad speaks no french and my brother only speaks a little. It was a great evening. Everyone got a long great and my dad tried really hard. We translated for him and the Rossiers tried their best to speak in English. Stephen and my 16 year old host sister hit it off and she tried to speak in english to him while her tried to speak in french to her. It was cute... I mean they can go ahead and get married so I can come to France a lot to visit family. haha! We ate foie gras... for those of you who don't know... that's goose liver. It was disgusting. First thing I haven't like in France. Both of our families really hit it off and I think Daphne is coming to stay with us this summer in July to practice her English. I really hope that happens. Friday my mom spent the day shopping with my host mom, I went to school, and my dad and brother went with a guide fly fishing. They had a great time despite the fact my brother fell in and had to borrow some french guys clothes. My family left on Saturday morning to spend the day in Paris and fly back Sunday. I was sad to see them go, but it was a really great family vacation. Saturday, my host family took Emma and I snow shoeing in Vercors Mountain range. There are three mountain ranges around here and it is incredible to me how different they all are. Makes me want to be fluent in French and study geology here. Anyways, there was no snow so we just went hiking. After the hike they took us to this mountain town and bought us chocolate croissants and really good french tea. Then we went shopping at a very french store and after that took a scenic route home that over looked Grenoble. It was a very charming afternoon. I'm really lucky because my host family is so nice. Saturday night we went to the London Pub in celebration of St. Patty's day. It was great seeing everyone dressed up for the occasion. Today, Sunday, I sat outside at a cafe on top of the Bastille and did my homework. It was blue skies and about 70 degrees. Tonight I am going to mass with my french family. So that's about everything. Miss you all a lot and I'll keep you updated! Ciao!

Entry 7

Salut! It is Tuesday morning and I am waiting for my classes to start at 12:30... so I figured I would keep this updated. This weekend we rented a car and headed to Venice. Matt picked us up from school at 3:30pm on Friday and we started the seven hour drive to Venice. We were in a a blue standard minivan. It was hilarious driving there... especially once we got into Italy because at all the tolls we didn't know whether to speak English or French...none of us speak any Italian. We ate on the road and got into Venice around 11pm. We parked the car and went to search for which night water bus would take us to our hostel. We get to the water bus stop and it says the last one was 15 minutes ago. So now we are all thinking we are stuck. I don't know how we got so lucky, but an old American women who lives in Venice was looking at the time too. She showed us a different one we could take and proceeded to be our guide and tell us everything we should do and see in Venice. What are the odds? We walked up to our hostel... it looked like a scene out of the movie "Just Married". We were down this scary dark ally and walked up to a huge brick place with no visible windows and a huge wood door. I'm now thinking I'm going to be the story on the news where a bunch of kids disappear in Venice or something. haha. It actually ended up being fine inside and we even got a complimentary croissant and coffee the next morning. Saturday was beautiful. It was about 70 degrees and perfect clear skies. We walked around all morning being really touristy and shopping a lot. For lunch we ate outside at this place that faced the Adriatic sea. It was incredible. At 2:30 we took a four hour bus ride to the three islands of Venice. The first one, Murano, specializes in glass blowing and we saw them making Venetian glass which was really awesome. The next island had a really old cathedral on it and a lot of stores that specialized in lace. Finally, we went to Burano which is an old fishing village. This was my favorite island because all of the buildings are painted bright blue, red, green, yellow, etc. It was such a cute place and all the shops were very nice. The boat tour was great because we got to be on the water and see a little bit what the Adriatic sea was all about. That night we came home, freshened up, and then went to an authentic Italian dinner. It was delicious. We had good wine, pasta, and sea food. Sunday we spent shopping again and visiting the palace where all the old important governmental figures lived. We left Venice at around 1pm and got home about 8:30pm. It was a lot of driving, but completely worth it. If you ever get a chance... go to Venice. It is my favorite city in Europe so far. After we got home, I met up with my mom and we went for a French steak dinner. It was pretty surreal seeing her in Grenoble. We have had a lot of fun together the last couple of days! I have been staying at her hotel and showing her around the city. So it was an amazing weekend and a great start to the week! Ok... I have class now... Miss you all! Ciao!

Entry 6

Salut! Nothing really to report in the last week. I went to Catholic Mass on Sunday with my family. It was in this really old cathedral. It was amazing. The choir sang beautifully and the sound resonated through the entire church. It sounded so good because of the high domed ceilings. The sermon was spoken very slowly and I actually understood most of it. Its cool that it is the same message just in a different language. It was an enlightening experience. Then Sunday night I got sick with the stomach flu and a fever. It was horrible. Today is Thursday and today is the first day I have functioned outside of my room. I went to school today and was a little tired, but it was so nice to be out doing something I didn't care. Being sick was hard because I couldn't really explain to my family what was wrong with me. My host mom was very nice. She made me rice every night.... even though I didn't want anything. She seemed to thing I should be scared of dying from hunger, or that's what she told me. Anyways, today was a better day and tonight I am going to a French movie with my study abroad program. Tomorrow, after school, we are jumping in a minivan and driving to Venice. Crazy? I know. It should make for an interesting weekend... don't worry because Matt reassured me with his book of European rode signs.... in case we get confused. haha. So... weekend in Venice and then my Mom will be here! I can't wait! Miss you all! Ciao!