À Bientôt, France

In just another hour, I'll be hopping on a bus that will take me from Ambialet to Toulouse. From there, the group will fly to Paris, where we will (weather permitting) board a plane leaving at 4:40 pm France time to arrive in D.C. around 7 pm EST.

I wish I had taken the time to post more frequently this last week, as I could probably write a dissertation on the past few days here alone. But with final exams and tearful goodbyes, doing so just wasn't realistic. Still, I need to write one final post:

Europe has been very good to me. The highlight of my entire time here has undoubtedly been getting engaged to my best friend. I could not be more excited to come home and see you, Alek. That clock never seemed so alive as it did in Paris and Rome. We need a lifetime together in order to make up for how fast the time goes by.

Secondly, I think about how lucky I am to have been able to visit 4.5 countries (counting the Vatican) in three short months. Little pieces of Barcelona, London, Paris, Rome, and the Vatican are with me wherever I go now, and I think that's pretty spectacular.

Finally, I am blessed to have been given the opportunity to get to know some incredible people along the way. Living at Le Prieure has been nothing short of an unforgettable adventure. I've had the time of my life, and I owe it all to you.

À bientôt, France. I'll be seeing you.

7,000 Words

Today marks the start of exam week for all Saint Francis students here and in Loretto. In an attempt to provide my friends currently studying their badonkadonks off with a little comic relief, I've decided to upload photos from mid-semester break that were taken by my fellow tourists who didn't know the first thing about how to take a picture. You see, when you want to be in a picture with your travel buddy in front of an ancient, famous, or breathtaking (fill in the blank) and there's nobody else you know around to take that picture, you're forced to follow a very precise protocol.

You have to first wait around at the particular spot where you want your picture to be taken. You then begin the search for a character who seems nice enough to take a picture that you can someday frame and put on your mantlepiece (and who isn't going to run away with your camera). Typically, the people you're looking for is another couple trying to take a picture of their own--this way, you can offer an exchange of photography services. Seemingly judgemental, that's just what you have to do. Unfortunately, it never works out quite like how you had originally hoped. Take a look:


Remind me why we came all the way to the Vatican to see the bricks?


(This one seems okay, but the man taking this picture stretegically covered a beautiful dome with Alek's head).


New photographer, still no dome.


Yes, my friends, that is Notre Dame.


Alek was ready for this one; I was trying to explain how to use the camera.


Alek's still ready to for his picture to be taken; I just wanted to be sure she understood what I was saying.


Alek gave up; why is she still taking pictures?

See what I mean? Nobody in Paris or Rome knew how to take a proper photo! So for all you weary travelers, the next time you're asked to help someone take a picture, pretty pretty please with a cherry on top (and rainbow jimmies) take your time and do what you can to help a brother (or in my case, sister) out. Chances are, they don't know when the next time will be that they're going to return, if ever. Remember that the beauty of their scrapbook is, quite literally, in your hands!

P.S. These wrinkable city maps would have also been useful while traveling!
P.P.S. There's not many things better than getting snail mail to say "good luck" on your first day of exam week. Thanks, Mom! (And a big thank you to anyone else who has taken the time to send smail mail my way these past few months...it's always the sunniest kind of day brightener).

Shalom

In celebration of the first day of Hanukkah, I think it's the perfect time to describe to you one of my favorite areas in all of Paris: The Marais District. The Marais District is historically the place where Paris' Jewish community has settled. It is home to the Picasso Museum, Bastille, Victor Hugo's house, and my favorite restaurant of all time: L'as du Fallafel. The first time I ate at L'as du Fallafel, it was a planned activity for the study abroad students. After my life was forever changed by that first falafel experience, I made a point to return to the same restaurant with Alek not once--but twice more--during our short time in Paris together. Never have I ever been to such a busy restaurant or one with better service. For all my fellow Marylanders, it's like a charming cross between Damascus' Jimmie Cone and Annapolis' Chick n' Ruth's...but so much better.


Unfortunately, words cannot properly credit or accurately describe this brilliant creation. All I can say about falafel is that it is a delightful mixture of vegetables that resemble meatballs but tastes completely original. I learned by looking at everyone else sitting in the restaurant that there are multiple ways in which one can enjoy their falafel; each time I had mine in a gyro with grilled eggplant, cucumber & radish slivers, and topped with a creamy yogurt sauce. Boy would I give anything for some falafel right now. With mango juice from Israel.


Falafel #1


Falafel #2


Falafel #3

P.S. I read in my Rick Steves' Paris 2010 guidebook that Lenny Kravitz is a regular at L'as du Fallafel.
P.P.S. The last time I was there, Alek and I had the honor of sitting at the table next to his picture!

Bienvenue, Weekend!

It's a Friday night in Ambialet and I am celebrating the weekend by watching Julie & Julia with some of the crew. I'm loving this because:
A. I'm in France watching a movie that [partially] takes place in France. I walked the same Parisian streets as the infamous Julia did just two weeks ago.
B. One of the two stars of this movie is Amy Adams, whose role in Enchanted seems to have given reason for people to serenade me as I wait on their tables back in The States.
C. The movie is based on Julie's attempt to complete all of the recipes in Julia Child's cookbook in just one year and publish an account of her experience in an online blog. In many regards, her experimental blogging is precisely what I'm trying to do. And just like Julie, I find pleasure in knowing that you (whoever you are, wherever you are) are taking the time to read this right now!

The Julie/Julia Project


Julia Child's kitchen in the American History Museum. Taken during a trip to D.C. with my best friend in August 2009, I knew this picture would come in handy someday.

P.S. The movie just got better. "A Bushel and a Peck" is being played in the background.
P.P.S. "A Bushel and a Peck" was my first favorite song ever.

Love Story

Once upon a time, there was a boy and a girl. In their younger years, they both wondered the crowded halls of Damascus High School, talking to each other on the way to their lockers at the beginning of the day and back to their buses at the end of it. Fast forward five and a half unforgettable years, and the boy flies to Europe to visit the girl. He bought tickets to Rome and back to Paris. On their first Friday in Paris together, the two visited some of the girl’s favorite places in the City of Lights, including Notre Dame de Paris, the Musee d’Orsay, and the Latin Quarter.

If that wasn’t enough, the two decided to take a twilight ride up the Eiffel Tower. From the tippy top, they could see one particularly bright spot beneath them. This light would just so happen to mark the place where their lives would soon change. After descending from the very top of Le Tour Eiffel, the two stopped to get dinner at Carrefour, the French take on Giant or Safeway, buying a five-star dinner that consisted of pre-made salads, French bread, and Nutella. After a picnic dinner in the Splendid Hotel that the boy had reserved for his stay, the two went to the balcony to admire the best view of the Eiffel Tower in all of Paris.

Now since this balcony was just barely large enough for one person to sit down on, the boy, being the gentleman that he has always been, let the girl sit down (on a towel, of course, so that she wouldn’t get cold) while he thoughtfully situated himself next to her from inside the room. It was around 11 o’clock when the Eiffel Tower shimmered as it does on every hour of the evening, and the girl noticed that the boy was on both of his knees. At first, she didn’t really think anything of it because of the foot-long height difference between the room and the window leading to the balcony. Then, before the girl had any idea of what was happening, one of the boy’s knees lifted from the ground and he asked her to marry him!

They’re going to live together happily ever after.

The trip of a lifetime.

It's been three weeks since my last post, and oh what a three weeks it has been. I have mastered the Parisian Metro system, walked the narrow streets of Rome in its entirety, and driven the length of France back to my home in Ambialet. In these past twenty days, I have made memories to last a lifetime with the best of friends and I am eternally grateful for each moment along the way.

Of everything I was able to see and experience in these past few weeks, I am most excited to announce to the world my engagement to my best friend and the love of my life. Thank you so much, Alek, for taking the time off from school to meet me in Europe (and for pulling off the amazing surprise without me having even the slightest clue). Our adventures together were better than anything else and I am absolutely thrilled at the idea of being able to spend the rest of my life with you.

To my friends and family back home: I fully intend to update this blog as frequently as possible with all of my best stories from Paris and Rome (and oh golly-gee-whiz is there a lot of them). If I fail to do a good job at this or am MIA for awhile, please forgive me. I still have a month left of classes here in Ambialet, as well as grad school applications to complete.

I miss you all bunches and love you lots,
Melanie

And we're off!

Today the group is en route to Paris! It will be about a ten hour or so drive to get there, but it will all be worth it because those who opted to drive will be detouring at Le Chateau d'Usse (aka: Sleeping Beauty's castle)! In fact, I'm supposed to be downstairs with all my things in just ten minutes!


We will be in Paris until the end of next week, when a few other students and I will be heading to Roma (happy shriek!) for our mid-semester break. Since I won't have much time to keep in touch with everyone during these next few weeks, I have decided to temporarily deactivate my facebook account.

xoxo

P.S. Don't worry, Mom, I'll send you an email to let you know we're safe in Paris as soon as I get the chance!

Mon reve est un voyage a Paris.

In just nine short hours, I will be taking my mid-term in French class. (Contrary to popular belief, we do have real classes here with real homework, real papers, and real tests). And at the moment, I'm finding it a whole lot easier to daydream about all things French (read: Paris) than to study for this test. If only I were getting a grade based purely on my appreciation for French culture, I'd be feeling a lot more confident right about now.

Photo courtesy of A Cup of Jo.