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!