First of all, I'd like to congratulate my dad who is now the president of the school board in Oshkosh. Way to go! Sounds like from the election report that his was being his usual goofy self: http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201004270846/OSH0105/100427024
And now back to Sheffield...
The reception on Sunday was really nice. Paige came along as my crazy surrogate mother, taking pictures of everything. I got a framed certificate and got to see the singing society perform--they were amazing! Then we walked home and got soaked in the rain. Called Dad later that night which was nice.
Monday morning I did some volunteer work for the school. I don't have a visa and someone just told me I couldn't volunteer on a student visitor status so, you know, lets just keep this on the down low. I'm thinking they might be wrong but who knows. It would be like the government to make people pay for a visa so they can give their time and energy towards making the world a better place.
Oh man, I can hear someone playing Hot Cross Buns on the recorder! I'm not sure if I'm having nightmarish flashbacks to elementary school or if there's actually a child running around outside blowing on a recorder. Good times.
Anyway, Monday I also got back my Modern and Crossover papers. I was sooo nervous but did way better than expected. I rocked the Crossover essay and did okay in Modern. I can tell there are definitely different standards between 2nd year and 3rd year courses (3rd being the final year here). I did pretty well in Modern though. That night I met up with the b-boys for drinks. It was nice seeing them all together again even if I couldn't stay long. We went to Harley first which is quoted as being 'The home of the lazy posers'. Definitely had the flannel, Riverwest vibe going on. Love it. Afterward, I spent the rest of the night doing laundry in preparation for my trip.
Tuesday I spent hours scrubbing down the kitchen, well kitchens actually. Dishes, counters, floor...the stove is white again! I'm not sure how long it will last but hopefully it'll stay clean before the inspectors come back. Then I read Holes for next week since I have to return it to the library. I love that book!
Today I got back my Working Class paper. I was the most worried about that one but did great as well. Now I have to start working on my next one. I have no idea what to write about. I'm also thinking about taking a stab at creative writing for my next Crossover paper; we'll see how that goes. Modern lecture was great today as well. The topic was American Modernism and the professor was hilarious. I was really interesting looking at your country as though it's a foreign land. It made me see certain things and historical events in a new way, like the introduction of mass production for instance. I guess I never really thought about how making standard sizes like small, medium, large, etc. shifted ideas about how people were supposed to fit into clothes instead of the other way around. It actually reflects a whole change in attitude during the early 20th century. I wish the lecture had been longer!
I'm headed to the train station in about 2 hours. I'll probably call it a night after I get to my hostel in Bath so I can get up and explore tomorrow. I'm meeting the family friends I'm staying with the rest of the time around 4 and going to their place a little outside the town. They seem really nice so I can't wait to meet them! I hope the weather holds up although it is England so I'm prepared for everything.
Have a great weekend everyone! Until next week,
Cheers!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
'Back to school, back to school...'
I can't believe it's been two weeks since my last post! And two weeks since our spring break ended. I have to admit that I was in Lala land my first week back to classes just as I had predicted. I turned two of my essays in on Monday and then tried desperately to churn something out for my final paper due that Friday. Basically that week consisted of me sleeping, drinking copious amounts of ineffective caffeine and staring at my computer screen. I don't know why I torture myself but by now it's become an unavoidable part of my writing process. I ended up unintentionally pulling an all nighter and watching the sun come up on Friday morning. I took a two hour nap then headed to campus to turn that last cursed essay in. Not my best work but at least it's over...for now. I have another paper due for that course in a month. Blah. I got to Skype the family Friday afternoon, or at least those who were already at my grandparents' house for the big anniversary party. It was awesome seeing everyone but it was a little sad not being able to be there.
Freedom, alas, is short lived. Due to my essays I let my readings fall far behind. I'm about half-way through half of the novels. I'm slowly catching up. I did go out on Friday night after turning in my paper. I finally got to check out Propaganda which is an indie/alternative club everyone seems to like. It was really fun even though I was running on 2 hours of sleep and was definitely ready for bed by the end of the night. It was also one of the loudest clubs I've been to and I swear my ears were ringing for days. I ran into some of the Broomhall boys but needless to say we didn't do much talking. We need to catch up boys!
I'm not really sure what I did last week. I think I spent most of the time trying to get my mind back in school mode. I was so out of it the week before that I ended up messing up my timetable and missing a seminar. Lectures were also a little messed up that week having 2 courses canceled. One of my teachers was stuck in Geneva because of the volcanic ash. Awesome!
Wednesday I went out with the house to Corp--a school dance night where you have to wear 'uniforms'. They go every week and I hadn't been a while so I decided to go. That place is so grimy but it was a fun night being with all of my housemates.
Thursday I think I read and spent the day planning another weekend trip. Thanks to connections and family friends, I'm staying with a family in Bath, England for 2 nights next Thursday and Friday. I actually leave Wednesday night after classes but since I'm getting in late I decided to stay in a hostel the first night. Emily also said she loved Bath so I think it will be good to have 2 full days there. May be I'll splurge and have a spa day in the natural hot springs, although it doesn't seem as fun doing it by yourself. I really hope the weather is nice. Saturday morning I'm taking a train to London to meet up with friends and heading back to Sheffield on Sunday. I predict an awesome weekend. Monday we supposedly don't have school so that will be homework day. I really wanted to visit Emily in Florence the weekend after but there seem to be no cheap flights that work on my schedule. It would be so much easier if Sheffield had an airport as well.
Friday, Paige and I walked around city centre. I wanted to go to the train station to buy advance tickets for York on Saturday since the website doesn't like my credit card. We somehow ended up getting kind of lost but got to see a new part of Sheffield. I did finally get my tickets. We also stopped at the 99pence store to pick up supplies for the house. We actually failed our house inspection because our ovens weren't clean on the inside and the floor wasn't mopped very well. It actually was mopped but someone walked on the wet floor with dirty shoes! Brilliant. Paige and I worked so hard cleaning the kitchen all for not. Although it could have been worse I guess. Our house seriously can't stay clean for more than a few hours. Oh and our shower curtains were dirty, and we have to put them in the washing machine with bleach. I swear they were like that when we moved in. So as you can probably guess I also spent the week doing a lot of cleaning for the inspection Friday morning.
Saturday, yesterday, I spent the day in York--about an hour train ride north of here. It was a beautiful day! The first day I walked around without a coat in England. My reason for going was to meet up with my cousin Lauren who was there for the day before going to Scotland. I got in before she did so ended up walking around the small center of this old, walled, Viking city. It is so cute and there are tempting little shops around every corner where I picked up a couple of things. I got some good deals though so I don't feel too guilty. Then I met Lauren at her hotel and we wandered until we found a place for afternoon tea. We actually ate at El Piano, a tapas bar that had all vegan friendly and gluten free food. Even the food was served in bio-degradable wood bowls. I had some amazing chai tea and hummas and Lauren had her first falafel. We caught up on each others travels and enjoyed the amazing smells from the kitchen. I had an open-return ticket so we decided to wander around a bit. We saw the beautiful abbey and walked on the stone wall. It was getting late so Lauren walked with me to the train station and waited until the train came which was really nice. I was about to step on when the doors closed and half the people were stuck on the platform. We didn't know what was going on but waited while they rocked the train back and forth. Very strange. They finally opened the doors and Lauren and I parted ways. The weather was still great in Sheffield and I enjoyed the 45 minute walk back home. The city was also buzzing with life as people celebrated St. George's Day. I have not idea what that is. I ran into Jon on the walk back and he was headed to our house for a pizza party. News to me. I guess Lauren and Daniela decided to make pizza dough and then everyone brought their own toppings and made personal pizzas. Paige didn't make one so they were nice enough to give me the extra dough and share toppings. Surprise, homemade pizzas certainly taste delicious! Thanks for making the dough ladies!
Today I have a scholarship reception for the American scholarship I got through Sheffield. I'm supposed to dress smart casual, whatever that means. I'll let you know how it goes. I think there are supposed to be performances so it sounds entertaining at least. Well I have a lot of work to do before my Bath/London trip so I should probably get to it.
Cheers!
Freedom, alas, is short lived. Due to my essays I let my readings fall far behind. I'm about half-way through half of the novels. I'm slowly catching up. I did go out on Friday night after turning in my paper. I finally got to check out Propaganda which is an indie/alternative club everyone seems to like. It was really fun even though I was running on 2 hours of sleep and was definitely ready for bed by the end of the night. It was also one of the loudest clubs I've been to and I swear my ears were ringing for days. I ran into some of the Broomhall boys but needless to say we didn't do much talking. We need to catch up boys!
I'm not really sure what I did last week. I think I spent most of the time trying to get my mind back in school mode. I was so out of it the week before that I ended up messing up my timetable and missing a seminar. Lectures were also a little messed up that week having 2 courses canceled. One of my teachers was stuck in Geneva because of the volcanic ash. Awesome!
Wednesday I went out with the house to Corp--a school dance night where you have to wear 'uniforms'. They go every week and I hadn't been a while so I decided to go. That place is so grimy but it was a fun night being with all of my housemates.
Thursday I think I read and spent the day planning another weekend trip. Thanks to connections and family friends, I'm staying with a family in Bath, England for 2 nights next Thursday and Friday. I actually leave Wednesday night after classes but since I'm getting in late I decided to stay in a hostel the first night. Emily also said she loved Bath so I think it will be good to have 2 full days there. May be I'll splurge and have a spa day in the natural hot springs, although it doesn't seem as fun doing it by yourself. I really hope the weather is nice. Saturday morning I'm taking a train to London to meet up with friends and heading back to Sheffield on Sunday. I predict an awesome weekend. Monday we supposedly don't have school so that will be homework day. I really wanted to visit Emily in Florence the weekend after but there seem to be no cheap flights that work on my schedule. It would be so much easier if Sheffield had an airport as well.
Friday, Paige and I walked around city centre. I wanted to go to the train station to buy advance tickets for York on Saturday since the website doesn't like my credit card. We somehow ended up getting kind of lost but got to see a new part of Sheffield. I did finally get my tickets. We also stopped at the 99pence store to pick up supplies for the house. We actually failed our house inspection because our ovens weren't clean on the inside and the floor wasn't mopped very well. It actually was mopped but someone walked on the wet floor with dirty shoes! Brilliant. Paige and I worked so hard cleaning the kitchen all for not. Although it could have been worse I guess. Our house seriously can't stay clean for more than a few hours. Oh and our shower curtains were dirty, and we have to put them in the washing machine with bleach. I swear they were like that when we moved in. So as you can probably guess I also spent the week doing a lot of cleaning for the inspection Friday morning.
Saturday, yesterday, I spent the day in York--about an hour train ride north of here. It was a beautiful day! The first day I walked around without a coat in England. My reason for going was to meet up with my cousin Lauren who was there for the day before going to Scotland. I got in before she did so ended up walking around the small center of this old, walled, Viking city. It is so cute and there are tempting little shops around every corner where I picked up a couple of things. I got some good deals though so I don't feel too guilty. Then I met Lauren at her hotel and we wandered until we found a place for afternoon tea. We actually ate at El Piano, a tapas bar that had all vegan friendly and gluten free food. Even the food was served in bio-degradable wood bowls. I had some amazing chai tea and hummas and Lauren had her first falafel. We caught up on each others travels and enjoyed the amazing smells from the kitchen. I had an open-return ticket so we decided to wander around a bit. We saw the beautiful abbey and walked on the stone wall. It was getting late so Lauren walked with me to the train station and waited until the train came which was really nice. I was about to step on when the doors closed and half the people were stuck on the platform. We didn't know what was going on but waited while they rocked the train back and forth. Very strange. They finally opened the doors and Lauren and I parted ways. The weather was still great in Sheffield and I enjoyed the 45 minute walk back home. The city was also buzzing with life as people celebrated St. George's Day. I have not idea what that is. I ran into Jon on the walk back and he was headed to our house for a pizza party. News to me. I guess Lauren and Daniela decided to make pizza dough and then everyone brought their own toppings and made personal pizzas. Paige didn't make one so they were nice enough to give me the extra dough and share toppings. Surprise, homemade pizzas certainly taste delicious! Thanks for making the dough ladies!
Today I have a scholarship reception for the American scholarship I got through Sheffield. I'm supposed to dress smart casual, whatever that means. I'll let you know how it goes. I think there are supposed to be performances so it sounds entertaining at least. Well I have a lot of work to do before my Bath/London trip so I should probably get to it.
Cheers!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Biblio Nightmare
As my title may suggest, I've had a rather horrible week finishing up two essays. Never again will I wait until the end to compile all my sources. Plus I've had to learn an entirely new way of referencing. I usually, oddly, like doing bibliographies but this was too much. And I'm in the process of writing and researching for another paper due Friday. I'll probably be fairly mentally checked out of my classes that start up again tomorrow. Adding to annoyance of homework has been the security alarm that kept going off this week. I think it was Thursday night when it wouldn't stop and not even the maintenance people could figure it out. There's nothing like the soothing voice of Garrison Keillor to keep you sane.
Besides the torture of writer's block, the weather and the virtual absence of human life in my neighborhood have been treats. All the freshies have gone home for break so it's been refreshingly silent. Without the students I've gotten a much better idea of the community and the people that live here. I've also gotten a lot of 'housekeeping' taken care of: went through emails, got info about a blog job I'm applying for, and had a Skype date with my adviser back home. Sounds like I might have to take a summer class or an online class...or both. Ick, there goes another couple thousand dollars. I also found certain secret items for my grandparents who are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary next week! I won't go into details since they read this but I think they'll like what I found. I haven't sent it yet so you'll probably get it late. Sorry! I also got some delicious veggie pie at a nearby pub and caught up with some people returning from their own travels.
The weather has been awesome which has kept me away from my work as well. Yesterday was in the 60s--the first time I've felt really warm in a while. Sydney and I decided to venture out to a shopping area after strolling through the botanical gardens. There are some amazing little shops just a 10 minute walk away that I definitely want to explore more later. We found an authentic Italian ristorante/store that has fresh, and expensive, Italian goodness. Yes, Emily, I'm totally jealous of your food experiences. In the spring mood, I also bought some flowers to liven up my room. Then we laid in the park for a while and watched families out enjoying the day. There was a big wedding going on so that was quite the spectacle. I did get research done when we got back so that day was wonderfully productive. Hopefully a draft will form sometime today. At least I'm not waiting until 2 days before like usual.
Just as a side note, I am having trouble uploading photos to facebook so I apologize for the unfinished albums. My internet shuts down or freaks out every time I try. If there's a particular photo you want just give me your email address and I'll send it to you.
Here's to another week of typing!
peace.
Besides the torture of writer's block, the weather and the virtual absence of human life in my neighborhood have been treats. All the freshies have gone home for break so it's been refreshingly silent. Without the students I've gotten a much better idea of the community and the people that live here. I've also gotten a lot of 'housekeeping' taken care of: went through emails, got info about a blog job I'm applying for, and had a Skype date with my adviser back home. Sounds like I might have to take a summer class or an online class...or both. Ick, there goes another couple thousand dollars. I also found certain secret items for my grandparents who are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary next week! I won't go into details since they read this but I think they'll like what I found. I haven't sent it yet so you'll probably get it late. Sorry! I also got some delicious veggie pie at a nearby pub and caught up with some people returning from their own travels.
The weather has been awesome which has kept me away from my work as well. Yesterday was in the 60s--the first time I've felt really warm in a while. Sydney and I decided to venture out to a shopping area after strolling through the botanical gardens. There are some amazing little shops just a 10 minute walk away that I definitely want to explore more later. We found an authentic Italian ristorante/store that has fresh, and expensive, Italian goodness. Yes, Emily, I'm totally jealous of your food experiences. In the spring mood, I also bought some flowers to liven up my room. Then we laid in the park for a while and watched families out enjoying the day. There was a big wedding going on so that was quite the spectacle. I did get research done when we got back so that day was wonderfully productive. Hopefully a draft will form sometime today. At least I'm not waiting until 2 days before like usual.
Just as a side note, I am having trouble uploading photos to facebook so I apologize for the unfinished albums. My internet shuts down or freaks out every time I try. If there's a particular photo you want just give me your email address and I'll send it to you.
Here's to another week of typing!
peace.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
"Not all lemonades are created equal."
I loved Edinburgh! Although I'm not sure Edinburgh loved me. I tripped at least 10 times a day (cobblestone...not so charming) and was almost blown off a cliff. But I had a great time exploring this amazing and haunted city and I hope I can go back to Scotland soon!
Wednesday, after a fairly pitiful attempt at trying to get work done in Sheffield, I boarded the Megabus to Edinburgh, Scotland. The bus had been delayed getting there because of the weather and the service bus supposed to meet us was stuck in Scotland. So I was a bit nervous about the weather after all these reports. Overall, the ride was great and I got an awesome tour of the countryside. Cozy farms with roaming sheep. Crashing waves along romantic cliffs. Gorgeous and rugged. I got into the city around 7 and managed to find my hostel amid the twisting streets and layers. It happens to be next to the castle so I used that as my landmark. After dropping my stuff I felt like dropping as well but a girl in my 6 bed dorm was going on the pub crawl so I joined her. I only planned on going to one or two but was having a great time with one of the hostel employees and a brother and sister from California so I stayed for the whole thing. We hit an Australian bar, an Irish pub, a metal bar and finally a dance club. Crazy fun first night!
Thursday morning I took a trip to the supermarket for cereal and lunch fixings. The hostel has really nice and fancy kitchens with refrigerators and cabinets to store food. Then I made it back to the hostel for the 11am walking tour with none other than our pub crawl lady. She did a great job telling us stories and making us laugh. Edinburgh certainly has a sordid past. Paige, my housemate from Sheffield, came into town that afternoon and we decided to meet up for tea at the Elephant House. It's a cute cafe where Rowling created Harry Potter. Major geek out! After catching up, we walked the Royal Mile down to the palace which is still used for some of the queen's functions. Deciding not to pay the entrance fee, we opted for climbing Arthur's seat, a cliff/summit overlooking the city. It was also beautiful weather so we wanted to take advantage of the sun. Brilliant views although the wind was a little frightening. I think I look either scared or wind-blown in all those photos. It was worth it though. Another friend from Uni, Darius, happened to be in town that day as well and staying at my hostel so I checked in with him later to see what his plans were. He was meeting up with some people and the guide from his tour of Scotland. Paige and I couldn't decide what to do but eventually just went out for some traditional food. I had haggis--a scary looking but yummy Scottish dish. Please, don't tell me what's in it. I do not want to know. Not really up for a big pub crawl, we decided to meet up with Darius and spent the evening at the Blackbull pub, or something like that. It was a great hole-in-the-wall with locals and good tunes. The tour guide bought us grenades which are aptly named I must say. Darius and I eventually headed back to the hostel and planned to meet up for coffee at 8:30 am the next morning before he left.
I woke up at 8:15. Totally unintentional. I was impressed at how fast I got ready. We met downstairs and walked to Costa which was supposed to have great views of the city but the glass was all frosted. After parting ways, I went back and cleaned up before meeting Paige at the castle. We debated about paying to see it but I wanted to do one big touristy thing so we bit the bullet. It was a pretty nice castle and surprisingly intact. In fact, some of the buildings are still used by the military. We went in some of the museums, saw a live, medieval musical performance and wandered through the POW prisons. Oh, we also saw the crown jewels and the stone of destiny. We didn't know what to do with ourselves for the rest of the day so we wandered in and out of free museums and did some shopping. Exhausted, we had tea and snacks at her hostel and relaxed for a bit. Around dinner, we went in search of food and found a cute place called The Tron that does specialty burgers among other things. It was super cheap as well. I got a chicken curry dish because I was really craving some naan. After hanging there for a while, we left to take a night walking tour. There are tons of haunted ghost tours but we did the free one. It was really funny but not scary. I think I'll invest in a really scary one that goes into the underground vaults if I go back.
After the tour we decided to find drinks and live music at an Irish pub but found intense rugby fans watching a game instead. So we wandered until we found a place with music and hung out there. Apparently we found a good place because it was crazy packed and had awesome music. A girl that was with us wanted to head back since she was leaving early so we parted ways a couple hours later. I went back hoping to pack and sleep but my card key didn't work so I went down to get it fixed. While at reception, 2 guys staying there--one being the manager--convinced me to have a drink next door with them and watch one of his lady friends dj. It was a really fun night but I was exhausted by the end and getting tired of the electro-indie mixes that all start to sound the same after a while. The manager was crazy too and pushed us all to the front. I think my ears are still ringing. It turned into a fun, interesting but completely unexpected last night.
I rolled out of bed on Saturday and somehow got packed up and checked out before 10. It was another beautiful day so I was a little sad to leave. I was planning on sleeping on the 6 hour bus ride back to Sheffield but ran into some people I met on a walking tour so chatted with one of them for most of the ride. I did get some shut eye and reading done. I made it into Sheffield around 4:30 or 5 and took the tram back to Uni. I walked from there and collapsed in my room around 6. After eating, skyping Mom and unpacking, Daniela and I caught up and decided to go out later since she's been cooped up most of the week. Matt and Pardeep were home and invited us over to watch a big boxing match. We ended up staying pretty late and by the end I'm pretty sure I was sleepwalking. Somehow I made it back home without falling asleep.
Today is Easter Sunday! I can't believe how fast time is flying. I plan on getting some work done today but I'm still so tired from traveling and such. I don't think I'm caught up on my sleep yet. Every time I try to read my essay my eyes blur and my brain feels stretched. When thinking hurts I don't usually do my best work. I may end up procrastinating again. Now that's something I'm really good at. Why do I do this to myself! Oh well. May be if the supermarket is open I'll buy some eggs to hardboil and chocolate to drown my sorrows...I mean, celebrate. Well, expect radio silence for the next week or two. I can't imagine I'll want to write anything until my essays are done.
Happy Easter!
Wednesday, after a fairly pitiful attempt at trying to get work done in Sheffield, I boarded the Megabus to Edinburgh, Scotland. The bus had been delayed getting there because of the weather and the service bus supposed to meet us was stuck in Scotland. So I was a bit nervous about the weather after all these reports. Overall, the ride was great and I got an awesome tour of the countryside. Cozy farms with roaming sheep. Crashing waves along romantic cliffs. Gorgeous and rugged. I got into the city around 7 and managed to find my hostel amid the twisting streets and layers. It happens to be next to the castle so I used that as my landmark. After dropping my stuff I felt like dropping as well but a girl in my 6 bed dorm was going on the pub crawl so I joined her. I only planned on going to one or two but was having a great time with one of the hostel employees and a brother and sister from California so I stayed for the whole thing. We hit an Australian bar, an Irish pub, a metal bar and finally a dance club. Crazy fun first night!
Thursday morning I took a trip to the supermarket for cereal and lunch fixings. The hostel has really nice and fancy kitchens with refrigerators and cabinets to store food. Then I made it back to the hostel for the 11am walking tour with none other than our pub crawl lady. She did a great job telling us stories and making us laugh. Edinburgh certainly has a sordid past. Paige, my housemate from Sheffield, came into town that afternoon and we decided to meet up for tea at the Elephant House. It's a cute cafe where Rowling created Harry Potter. Major geek out! After catching up, we walked the Royal Mile down to the palace which is still used for some of the queen's functions. Deciding not to pay the entrance fee, we opted for climbing Arthur's seat, a cliff/summit overlooking the city. It was also beautiful weather so we wanted to take advantage of the sun. Brilliant views although the wind was a little frightening. I think I look either scared or wind-blown in all those photos. It was worth it though. Another friend from Uni, Darius, happened to be in town that day as well and staying at my hostel so I checked in with him later to see what his plans were. He was meeting up with some people and the guide from his tour of Scotland. Paige and I couldn't decide what to do but eventually just went out for some traditional food. I had haggis--a scary looking but yummy Scottish dish. Please, don't tell me what's in it. I do not want to know. Not really up for a big pub crawl, we decided to meet up with Darius and spent the evening at the Blackbull pub, or something like that. It was a great hole-in-the-wall with locals and good tunes. The tour guide bought us grenades which are aptly named I must say. Darius and I eventually headed back to the hostel and planned to meet up for coffee at 8:30 am the next morning before he left.
I woke up at 8:15. Totally unintentional. I was impressed at how fast I got ready. We met downstairs and walked to Costa which was supposed to have great views of the city but the glass was all frosted. After parting ways, I went back and cleaned up before meeting Paige at the castle. We debated about paying to see it but I wanted to do one big touristy thing so we bit the bullet. It was a pretty nice castle and surprisingly intact. In fact, some of the buildings are still used by the military. We went in some of the museums, saw a live, medieval musical performance and wandered through the POW prisons. Oh, we also saw the crown jewels and the stone of destiny. We didn't know what to do with ourselves for the rest of the day so we wandered in and out of free museums and did some shopping. Exhausted, we had tea and snacks at her hostel and relaxed for a bit. Around dinner, we went in search of food and found a cute place called The Tron that does specialty burgers among other things. It was super cheap as well. I got a chicken curry dish because I was really craving some naan. After hanging there for a while, we left to take a night walking tour. There are tons of haunted ghost tours but we did the free one. It was really funny but not scary. I think I'll invest in a really scary one that goes into the underground vaults if I go back.
After the tour we decided to find drinks and live music at an Irish pub but found intense rugby fans watching a game instead. So we wandered until we found a place with music and hung out there. Apparently we found a good place because it was crazy packed and had awesome music. A girl that was with us wanted to head back since she was leaving early so we parted ways a couple hours later. I went back hoping to pack and sleep but my card key didn't work so I went down to get it fixed. While at reception, 2 guys staying there--one being the manager--convinced me to have a drink next door with them and watch one of his lady friends dj. It was a really fun night but I was exhausted by the end and getting tired of the electro-indie mixes that all start to sound the same after a while. The manager was crazy too and pushed us all to the front. I think my ears are still ringing. It turned into a fun, interesting but completely unexpected last night.
I rolled out of bed on Saturday and somehow got packed up and checked out before 10. It was another beautiful day so I was a little sad to leave. I was planning on sleeping on the 6 hour bus ride back to Sheffield but ran into some people I met on a walking tour so chatted with one of them for most of the ride. I did get some shut eye and reading done. I made it into Sheffield around 4:30 or 5 and took the tram back to Uni. I walked from there and collapsed in my room around 6. After eating, skyping Mom and unpacking, Daniela and I caught up and decided to go out later since she's been cooped up most of the week. Matt and Pardeep were home and invited us over to watch a big boxing match. We ended up staying pretty late and by the end I'm pretty sure I was sleepwalking. Somehow I made it back home without falling asleep.
Today is Easter Sunday! I can't believe how fast time is flying. I plan on getting some work done today but I'm still so tired from traveling and such. I don't think I'm caught up on my sleep yet. Every time I try to read my essay my eyes blur and my brain feels stretched. When thinking hurts I don't usually do my best work. I may end up procrastinating again. Now that's something I'm really good at. Why do I do this to myself! Oh well. May be if the supermarket is open I'll buy some eggs to hardboil and chocolate to drown my sorrows...I mean, celebrate. Well, expect radio silence for the next week or two. I can't imagine I'll want to write anything until my essays are done.
Happy Easter!
Monday, March 29, 2010
"A Hard Day's Night"
Expecting high 60s and sun, Em and I decided to visit Cannes and Antibes on our last full day in France. Of course the trains happened to be under repair on Saturday so we were forced to take the bus. On the plus side, the bus is only 1 euro. However, I probably would have dropped the extra cash when what was supposed to be 1.5 hour bus ride turned into 2.5. It's normally 20 min by train. The way there wasn't too bad because we stopped in Antibes on the way. We weren't up for too much touring so we headed straight for the sandy beach. Our plan to lay on the beach didn't last long when we both started getting goosebumps less than an hour later. Ah clouds!
So we jumped back on the bus and headed to Cannes. The hard thing about buses is that it's harder to tell which stops are coming up or when to push the stop button or even what town you're in. I almost didn't realize we were in Cannes because it came up so fast. Luckily tons of people were getting off so we followed. One of the hostel workers had given us a map and walking route to the main attractions so we stuck to that. First, Emily topped up on diet coke and food while I orientated us. We headed to see the avenue of stars or whatever it's called with the hand prints on the ground but made a wrong turn and started by window shopping for yachts. We were definitely in the right city. On the other side of the theater, where I think they hold the film festival, is the hand print area. We saw Gregory Peck's hand impression! There weren't as many as we hoped but they did have cardboard cut-outs we could stick our heads through and pretend to be stars. Emily got her picture with George Clooney as Brad Pitt. She looks surprisingly good as Brad. After people watching on the promenade, we caught the bus back home. Horrible bus ride. I'm usually really patient but I was going stir crazy. Almost 3 hours it took to get back and some people had to stand the whole way. It was super packed and hot. That's what 1 euro gets you I guess.
We spent the entire night packing and getting ready to leave on Sunday morning. Emily had to completely re-pack because she has so much stuff. I'm glad I wasn't moving countries! I mean...moving to another country. I'm fairly certain she couldn't move a country.
Sunday morning I decided to not be my usual overly cautious self and didn't wake up at the crack of dawn to get to the airport 3 hours early...which was my original plan. Instead, I had breakfast at the hostel and caught the first 8am shuttle with Emily who was catching a train to Italy. We sadly parted ways and I waited to catch a bus to the airport. It was definitely the day of nice, helpful middle-aged men. The first guy I encountered at the bus stop. He asked, first in French, if I was on holiday. I told him what I'd been up to in Nice and he apologized for the "bad" weather. Finally met a local on my last day. Then he gave me advice about what stop to get off at.
I made it to my gate with an hour to spare. Nice is a small airport so I didn't expect much hassle. I flew EasyJet again so no assigned seating. I ended up next to my 2nd friendly gentleman of the day and we talked the entire flight to Liverpool. Super interesting! This guy is from Wales and is a recently self-employed electrician. He does consulting work and special jobs mostly so he makes better money than most electricians I gathered. He and his partners are currently working on villas near Nice, actually right on the peninsula where we hiked the first day. I learned some very interesting and juicy things about the high rollers living up there. Well, not living. They really only stay there for a couple months at a time. Apparently, most of the wealthy people there are Russian and new money. He was telling me about the family whose house he's working on. He's friends with the accountant who pays their bills so he hears some crazy stories. Anyway, here's one...the 17 year old son went out to dinner in Cannes with some friends and spent like 30,000 euros! I asked him how it was even possible to spend that much. I guess they buy 1,000 euro bottles of Cristal and just spray them everywhere, and not just one or two. I seriously only thought people did that in music videos. My Wales companion also talked about the women and their fashion competitions. Craziness. Well, it was a very entertaining flight and he even bought me some juice since they charge you for everything on budget airlines. So nice. I wish him all the best!
They let me back into England! I didn't even have to wait in the long passport line since I was one of the only people without a EU/UK passport. Sweet. I got a map and instructions on what bus to take into Liverpool city center and the train station. It was about a 30 min ride but I saw a good deal of the city. I got to the train station around 1pm planning on stashing my big bag in a locker or something. They had a baggage check room but by the time I got there it was full. My train didn't leave until 10 to 8 so I had a lot of time to wander the city. I planned on doing that anyway but not with my freaking heavy duffel and backpack. I looked ridiculous trying to take pictures. I survived but my shoulders are killing me today.
I loved Liverpool! They have really done a lot of work to clean up the city but it still has that old port charm. There are so many amazing angles everywhere that my camera was going crazy. The contemporary architecture is super eye-catching. I think I also liked Liverpool because it's flat. Gloriously flat. I'm thinking I should transfer. It is a rather small town so I saw most of it in like 4 hours. I went to the docks, the Cavern Club (where the Beatles played), and Chinatown. I just wandered around and eventually made it to the big cathedral. It's the 2nd largest Anglican cathedral in the world I think. There was a palm Sunday mass going on so I stayed and caught the second half. I wish I could have brought back palms from Nice! They were giving out what looked like olive branches instead of palm leaves. After that, I couldn't lug my bags around anymore so I had a sub snack at subway and headed back to the station. I sat around Costa coffee for a while trying to choke down an awful latte and writing in my journal. Then I moved to the center of the station and watched the crowds of soccer fans. There must have been a game that day. Liverpool definitely has some interesting people. I've never seen so many crazy hair colors in my life. There was one particular shade of blue that I really liked. It was so cold in the station, and it took me a while to discover the heated lounge area by my track. I'm not sure why I booked such a late train. It must have been really cheap. The ride was nice but I didn't see much country side in the dark. 1.5 hours later I made it into Sheffield, got yelled at by a drunk guy because I couldn't understand his thick, boozed-up accent, and took a taxi home. Steph and Dave were home so I chatted with them for a bit then headed to my room. My own room! It is nice to come 'home' again as much as I like traveling. Plus, once I'm back in Milwaukee I'll be sharing a room again so I better enjoy it now. I got to talk to Mom on Skype last night too which was great.
This morning I woke up to Steph screaming. Apparently she forgot to set all of her clocks forward (we changed on Sunday) so she was running late. She was headed to Spain with Dave and they had to catch a train...to the airport I guess. I hope they made it. Anyway, quite the alarm clock. It was good I got up because I needed to work on my essays. Didn't really go well. I'm still on essay number one for Modern Lit. and I still haven't finished. I'm having to re-write most of it b/c it's waaaay too long. I guess I'll finish it tomorrow morning before I start my Crossover essay. I'll have a 6 hour bus ride to Edinburgh on Wednesday so that should give me time to revise. I'll also be trapped and forced to concentrate. Not looking forward to the slushy snow they're getting in Scotland but I am excited. I heard it's a beautiful city plus I'll be meeting up with Paige. Always a crazy time! I love the Scottish accent too.
Updates after Scotland! Wish me luck on my essays. Peace.
So we jumped back on the bus and headed to Cannes. The hard thing about buses is that it's harder to tell which stops are coming up or when to push the stop button or even what town you're in. I almost didn't realize we were in Cannes because it came up so fast. Luckily tons of people were getting off so we followed. One of the hostel workers had given us a map and walking route to the main attractions so we stuck to that. First, Emily topped up on diet coke and food while I orientated us. We headed to see the avenue of stars or whatever it's called with the hand prints on the ground but made a wrong turn and started by window shopping for yachts. We were definitely in the right city. On the other side of the theater, where I think they hold the film festival, is the hand print area. We saw Gregory Peck's hand impression! There weren't as many as we hoped but they did have cardboard cut-outs we could stick our heads through and pretend to be stars. Emily got her picture with George Clooney as Brad Pitt. She looks surprisingly good as Brad. After people watching on the promenade, we caught the bus back home. Horrible bus ride. I'm usually really patient but I was going stir crazy. Almost 3 hours it took to get back and some people had to stand the whole way. It was super packed and hot. That's what 1 euro gets you I guess.
We spent the entire night packing and getting ready to leave on Sunday morning. Emily had to completely re-pack because she has so much stuff. I'm glad I wasn't moving countries! I mean...moving to another country. I'm fairly certain she couldn't move a country.
Sunday morning I decided to not be my usual overly cautious self and didn't wake up at the crack of dawn to get to the airport 3 hours early...which was my original plan. Instead, I had breakfast at the hostel and caught the first 8am shuttle with Emily who was catching a train to Italy. We sadly parted ways and I waited to catch a bus to the airport. It was definitely the day of nice, helpful middle-aged men. The first guy I encountered at the bus stop. He asked, first in French, if I was on holiday. I told him what I'd been up to in Nice and he apologized for the "bad" weather. Finally met a local on my last day. Then he gave me advice about what stop to get off at.
I made it to my gate with an hour to spare. Nice is a small airport so I didn't expect much hassle. I flew EasyJet again so no assigned seating. I ended up next to my 2nd friendly gentleman of the day and we talked the entire flight to Liverpool. Super interesting! This guy is from Wales and is a recently self-employed electrician. He does consulting work and special jobs mostly so he makes better money than most electricians I gathered. He and his partners are currently working on villas near Nice, actually right on the peninsula where we hiked the first day. I learned some very interesting and juicy things about the high rollers living up there. Well, not living. They really only stay there for a couple months at a time. Apparently, most of the wealthy people there are Russian and new money. He was telling me about the family whose house he's working on. He's friends with the accountant who pays their bills so he hears some crazy stories. Anyway, here's one...the 17 year old son went out to dinner in Cannes with some friends and spent like 30,000 euros! I asked him how it was even possible to spend that much. I guess they buy 1,000 euro bottles of Cristal and just spray them everywhere, and not just one or two. I seriously only thought people did that in music videos. My Wales companion also talked about the women and their fashion competitions. Craziness. Well, it was a very entertaining flight and he even bought me some juice since they charge you for everything on budget airlines. So nice. I wish him all the best!
They let me back into England! I didn't even have to wait in the long passport line since I was one of the only people without a EU/UK passport. Sweet. I got a map and instructions on what bus to take into Liverpool city center and the train station. It was about a 30 min ride but I saw a good deal of the city. I got to the train station around 1pm planning on stashing my big bag in a locker or something. They had a baggage check room but by the time I got there it was full. My train didn't leave until 10 to 8 so I had a lot of time to wander the city. I planned on doing that anyway but not with my freaking heavy duffel and backpack. I looked ridiculous trying to take pictures. I survived but my shoulders are killing me today.
I loved Liverpool! They have really done a lot of work to clean up the city but it still has that old port charm. There are so many amazing angles everywhere that my camera was going crazy. The contemporary architecture is super eye-catching. I think I also liked Liverpool because it's flat. Gloriously flat. I'm thinking I should transfer. It is a rather small town so I saw most of it in like 4 hours. I went to the docks, the Cavern Club (where the Beatles played), and Chinatown. I just wandered around and eventually made it to the big cathedral. It's the 2nd largest Anglican cathedral in the world I think. There was a palm Sunday mass going on so I stayed and caught the second half. I wish I could have brought back palms from Nice! They were giving out what looked like olive branches instead of palm leaves. After that, I couldn't lug my bags around anymore so I had a sub snack at subway and headed back to the station. I sat around Costa coffee for a while trying to choke down an awful latte and writing in my journal. Then I moved to the center of the station and watched the crowds of soccer fans. There must have been a game that day. Liverpool definitely has some interesting people. I've never seen so many crazy hair colors in my life. There was one particular shade of blue that I really liked. It was so cold in the station, and it took me a while to discover the heated lounge area by my track. I'm not sure why I booked such a late train. It must have been really cheap. The ride was nice but I didn't see much country side in the dark. 1.5 hours later I made it into Sheffield, got yelled at by a drunk guy because I couldn't understand his thick, boozed-up accent, and took a taxi home. Steph and Dave were home so I chatted with them for a bit then headed to my room. My own room! It is nice to come 'home' again as much as I like traveling. Plus, once I'm back in Milwaukee I'll be sharing a room again so I better enjoy it now. I got to talk to Mom on Skype last night too which was great.
This morning I woke up to Steph screaming. Apparently she forgot to set all of her clocks forward (we changed on Sunday) so she was running late. She was headed to Spain with Dave and they had to catch a train...to the airport I guess. I hope they made it. Anyway, quite the alarm clock. It was good I got up because I needed to work on my essays. Didn't really go well. I'm still on essay number one for Modern Lit. and I still haven't finished. I'm having to re-write most of it b/c it's waaaay too long. I guess I'll finish it tomorrow morning before I start my Crossover essay. I'll have a 6 hour bus ride to Edinburgh on Wednesday so that should give me time to revise. I'll also be trapped and forced to concentrate. Not looking forward to the slushy snow they're getting in Scotland but I am excited. I heard it's a beautiful city plus I'll be meeting up with Paige. Always a crazy time! I love the Scottish accent too.
Updates after Scotland! Wish me luck on my essays. Peace.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Smell this!
Thursday was just confusing. We thought it would be the perfect work day since it was cold and cloudy so after touring the Matisse museum we went back to the hostel. I spent some time staring at my essay and writing a blog. Emily worked on applications until we saw sun peeking out and decided to go to the beach to lay out. By the time we got downtown, the sun was gone and it was soooo windy. I almost blew away. We found a nook to huddle behind by the water and got some sun while we read, and I wrote some postcards. Not wanting to go back until the shuttle started running again at six, we hung out at a cafe for a few hours. Ok, I'm not going to glamourize it...we went to McDonalds. Hey it's cheap and they have free wi-fi so don't judge. Around 5:40 Emily headed back to the hostel and I went window shopping while I waited for Sydney's 7pm train to come in. Her train was a little late but she saw me waiting and came running to give me a hug. Neither of us noticed the old blind man walking by and Sydney accidentally tripped over his stick. Really, what are the chances. Thank goodness she speaks French and was able to apologize. My normal hand gestures and apologetic facial expressions would have been pointless for obvious reasons. So yeah, good start.
We stopped by the grocery store on the way to the hostel. Sydney loaded up on cheap but surprisingly tolerable wine and some cheese. Later, she settled in while Emily and I made the rest of our pasta. Sounds simple yet kind of a disasterous dinner. The water took ten years to boil. I burned my finger which had an ice cast for the rest of the night. Emily spilled red wine all over herself. Awesome. Overall though we had fun chatting over wine and catching up.
We decided to go out again last night and made our way to the old town. We ended up picking kind of a random pub which turned out to have great live music and way cheaper drinks than Waynes. It was a really cool building and the stage looked like it was in a cave. We were going to pop into Waynes on the way home but they were making us pay to check our coats for like 40 minutes. So we just caught the last tram back to our expectant beds.
This morning we kind of slept in; I just made it down to breakfast in my pj's. Then we decided, after looking at the pouring rain, to go to Grasse and the perfume museums. The hour bus ride into the hills was beautiful! Grasse grows and bottles the essences used in many famous perfumes such as Channel. Walking toward the factory I could smell the wonderful perfumes from a block away. We wandered through the museum then got a guided tour of the factory. In English! It was really interesting and I have a new appreciation for perfume. It may be my second calling. It was also cool seeing where the film Perfume, one of my favorites, took place. By the way, watch that movie at your own risk...it's very strange. Emily and I were challenged to beat the German couple with us by matching scents to their pictures. We got 8 out of 8! I think she was impressed since the average is 4. I'm defintely giving some credit to my stepmother's garden which has honed my nose over the years. The tour guide was a buzz kill though when she told us that professional, trained noses can recognize thousands of scents. Well we have 8 down! After, Emily and I wandered around Grasse and found a place in the sun that finally decided to show its face. It turned about to be a wonderful day!
The bus brought us back to Nice around 6. We decided to have our one night out tonight for dinner and texted Sydney to meet us. She had been touring Nice all day by herself because she leaves for Italy tomorrow and has to see everything she can. Emily and I found a resonable place in old town where we parked ourselves and ordered wine while we waited for Sydney. It defintely seemed like a place with a lot of regulars; the waiter was pretty friendly with people...really friendly actually. We ended up having a basic but very French meal starting with the local socca--crepe like dish made with chickpeas and sprinkled with black pepper. Really filling and yummy. For dinner, a croque-monsieur which is basically a fancy and delicious ham and cheese sandwhich. It's hard to really give it credit. I also had a classic espresso shot to round out the experience.
Tonight we are just socializing in the hostel lounge, and I've been learning a lot about Iceland. Apparently there are more people in Nice than their whole country and their government is terrible. The guy from Iceland also tried to convince us that his plan to get a tattoo of the Joe boxer smiley face on his butt cheek was a good idea. Interesting people certainly come from Iceland. Tomorrow we are visiting Cannes and Antibes on our last full day in France. It's been fun and I'm really going to miss the mostly good weather. I defintely think I could move to this area one day although may be not the city. The little villages are so charming and laid back. I will enjoy having my own room again in a few days. 14 bed dorms get old after a while. I wonder what room I booked for Scotland...
Well, final day in France will be up soon. My blogs may be scant after this while I have 3 essays to write but I will do my best.
Peace!
--written on Friday
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
We stopped by the grocery store on the way to the hostel. Sydney loaded up on cheap but surprisingly tolerable wine and some cheese. Later, she settled in while Emily and I made the rest of our pasta. Sounds simple yet kind of a disasterous dinner. The water took ten years to boil. I burned my finger which had an ice cast for the rest of the night. Emily spilled red wine all over herself. Awesome. Overall though we had fun chatting over wine and catching up.
We decided to go out again last night and made our way to the old town. We ended up picking kind of a random pub which turned out to have great live music and way cheaper drinks than Waynes. It was a really cool building and the stage looked like it was in a cave. We were going to pop into Waynes on the way home but they were making us pay to check our coats for like 40 minutes. So we just caught the last tram back to our expectant beds.
This morning we kind of slept in; I just made it down to breakfast in my pj's. Then we decided, after looking at the pouring rain, to go to Grasse and the perfume museums. The hour bus ride into the hills was beautiful! Grasse grows and bottles the essences used in many famous perfumes such as Channel. Walking toward the factory I could smell the wonderful perfumes from a block away. We wandered through the museum then got a guided tour of the factory. In English! It was really interesting and I have a new appreciation for perfume. It may be my second calling. It was also cool seeing where the film Perfume, one of my favorites, took place. By the way, watch that movie at your own risk...it's very strange. Emily and I were challenged to beat the German couple with us by matching scents to their pictures. We got 8 out of 8! I think she was impressed since the average is 4. I'm defintely giving some credit to my stepmother's garden which has honed my nose over the years. The tour guide was a buzz kill though when she told us that professional, trained noses can recognize thousands of scents. Well we have 8 down! After, Emily and I wandered around Grasse and found a place in the sun that finally decided to show its face. It turned about to be a wonderful day!
The bus brought us back to Nice around 6. We decided to have our one night out tonight for dinner and texted Sydney to meet us. She had been touring Nice all day by herself because she leaves for Italy tomorrow and has to see everything she can. Emily and I found a resonable place in old town where we parked ourselves and ordered wine while we waited for Sydney. It defintely seemed like a place with a lot of regulars; the waiter was pretty friendly with people...really friendly actually. We ended up having a basic but very French meal starting with the local socca--crepe like dish made with chickpeas and sprinkled with black pepper. Really filling and yummy. For dinner, a croque-monsieur which is basically a fancy and delicious ham and cheese sandwhich. It's hard to really give it credit. I also had a classic espresso shot to round out the experience.
Tonight we are just socializing in the hostel lounge, and I've been learning a lot about Iceland. Apparently there are more people in Nice than their whole country and their government is terrible. The guy from Iceland also tried to convince us that his plan to get a tattoo of the Joe boxer smiley face on his butt cheek was a good idea. Interesting people certainly come from Iceland. Tomorrow we are visiting Cannes and Antibes on our last full day in France. It's been fun and I'm really going to miss the mostly good weather. I defintely think I could move to this area one day although may be not the city. The little villages are so charming and laid back. I will enjoy having my own room again in a few days. 14 bed dorms get old after a while. I wonder what room I booked for Scotland...
Well, final day in France will be up soon. My blogs may be scant after this while I have 3 essays to write but I will do my best.
Peace!
--written on Friday
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thursday, March 25, 2010
French fried
So I realized that my blogs seem a lot longer when I'm typing it on my iPod. Also the automatic spelling changes on here have been interesting...how did it get Volga out of blogs and what's a Volga anyway?
Monday, day one in Nice. Pretty good free breakfast cereal selection at the hostel. Everything has chocolate in it so we get a good morning sugar rush. Oh, and one of them tastes like Hello Panda (that's a reference for my bro...one that he'll probably never read.). There is also free coffee and tea here all day. We spent the first day hiking along some gorgeous coastline and admiring Nice from afar. We also glimpsed how the other half live as they say. Although most if the wealth lives in Monaco to avoid French taxes. Some how we made it along the coast without a map and ended the hike at a sandwhich shop in a port. Great sandwhich with huge chunks of mozzarella.
Tuesday as Em mentioned was a transit strike so we took the opportunity to stay and explore Nice. The old town is so cute and the beaches are great although rocky. I wasn't prepared for sunbathing and ended up looking like a tomato...hence my blog title. I'm slowing fading back to pale so I'll fit in in Scotland next week where it is apparently snowing!
Em and I have been saving money by utilizing the hostel kitchen and "stealing" bread from breakfast to make sandwiches. We've been living off of pb&j and pasta. We did have pizza last night. Hand made by the hostel's personal pizza chef!
Yesterday was Eze and Monaco. I would love to stay in Eze one day. It's so cute and secluded although far from beaches. See Em's description of Monaco. I'd only add that the palace and old town side of Monaco was lovely and we did not explore it fully since we were racing for the bus. I think our Texas travel buddies asked every traffic cop and even a palace guard where to catch the bus back to Nice. Finally found the unmarked bus stand. We met up with Em's program friends back at the hostel and the two guys we met the night before. We went out as a group last night to Waynes bar where they has some great live covers. The Aussie in our group started harassing the dj so he started playing backstreet boys. We didn't stay long after that.
Sydney is coming to Nice today! I was going to meet her in Marseille but by the time I got up I would have spent most of the day on the train. After not being able to get in touch with her all night, we finally facebook chated and agreed to meet here. We will probably do a day trip tomorrow and lay on the beach. Sat we are definitely taking advantage of the sun and going to Cannes and Antibes for our last day. I'm leaving bright and early for Liverpool on Sunday. This week is going so fast! Well I best go enjoy the partly cloudy day.
Smooch!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, day one in Nice. Pretty good free breakfast cereal selection at the hostel. Everything has chocolate in it so we get a good morning sugar rush. Oh, and one of them tastes like Hello Panda (that's a reference for my bro...one that he'll probably never read.). There is also free coffee and tea here all day. We spent the first day hiking along some gorgeous coastline and admiring Nice from afar. We also glimpsed how the other half live as they say. Although most if the wealth lives in Monaco to avoid French taxes. Some how we made it along the coast without a map and ended the hike at a sandwhich shop in a port. Great sandwhich with huge chunks of mozzarella.
Tuesday as Em mentioned was a transit strike so we took the opportunity to stay and explore Nice. The old town is so cute and the beaches are great although rocky. I wasn't prepared for sunbathing and ended up looking like a tomato...hence my blog title. I'm slowing fading back to pale so I'll fit in in Scotland next week where it is apparently snowing!
Em and I have been saving money by utilizing the hostel kitchen and "stealing" bread from breakfast to make sandwiches. We've been living off of pb&j and pasta. We did have pizza last night. Hand made by the hostel's personal pizza chef!
Yesterday was Eze and Monaco. I would love to stay in Eze one day. It's so cute and secluded although far from beaches. See Em's description of Monaco. I'd only add that the palace and old town side of Monaco was lovely and we did not explore it fully since we were racing for the bus. I think our Texas travel buddies asked every traffic cop and even a palace guard where to catch the bus back to Nice. Finally found the unmarked bus stand. We met up with Em's program friends back at the hostel and the two guys we met the night before. We went out as a group last night to Waynes bar where they has some great live covers. The Aussie in our group started harassing the dj so he started playing backstreet boys. We didn't stay long after that.
Sydney is coming to Nice today! I was going to meet her in Marseille but by the time I got up I would have spent most of the day on the train. After not being able to get in touch with her all night, we finally facebook chated and agreed to meet here. We will probably do a day trip tomorrow and lay on the beach. Sat we are definitely taking advantage of the sun and going to Cannes and Antibes for our last day. I'm leaving bright and early for Liverpool on Sunday. This week is going so fast! Well I best go enjoy the partly cloudy day.
Smooch!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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