Day 19

Friday, today is my last day in Avignon. I got up around noon and I had some cereal, the usual. I got ready and at 3 Margaux’s mom took me to Avignon. She dropped me off and I spent 2 and a half hours all by my self, just being a tourist. Margaux didn’t come because of her sun burn. I walked around and went to all the shops I had been wanting to go into and I bought some lovely stuff both for me and for some other people, hehe. I was walking through one of the streets and a man with some kind of petition stopped me to ask me to sign. I said "sorry but I’m not French" he said in English "Oh! I Love this! I love you!!" Ha!! It was the funniest thing ever and I said "thank you" as he repeatedly said "I love you!" You just can’t beat those frenchies!! HA HA!!! After that strange and funny encounter, I continued on my way. After a while I stopped to watch a man who was playing the bagpipes, but the instrument looked like it was made from a pig skin! I mean it looked like a pig and everything, with the legs sticking out and all. I took video of him playing, he was very good. I had stopped to watch him play and there was a great big crowd around and by the time I got my camera out he had finished the song he was playing. Then everyone left. I was still there and I had my camera out, he saw and so that is the reason why, in the video, he is looking directly at me; because I was the only one there. I gave him a Euro because he played so well. After that I still had half an hour until Margaux’s mom was due to pick me up so I decided to sit down at a café. It was so hot and I was so thirsty that I just ordered water. The waiter asked if I wanted Evian, I said sure and he came back with a giant wine bottle sized Evian! I was taken aback because I was expecting a little plastic bottle of water. But I payed for it anyway and when he came back with my change he brought a cup with cherry flavored syrup for me though I hadn’t asked. It was nice of him, though the water was 5 Euros! I have learned my lesson, NO EVIAN!! TOO EXPENSIVE!!! Oh well, the half hour I spent there was very pleasant.
Margaux’s mom picked me up at 5:30 with Margaux and Xenya in the car. We then went to the movie store and they rented some French movie that I have forgotten the name of. We then went to the supermarket to by dinner because the "frigo was empty" and while there I went to the electronics and book store and bought a cook book that I had been looking at the first time I went to that store. It is really neat!!! Then we went back and I played a bit on my computer and then at 8 dinner was ready. We had cantaloupe, pasta salad with cucumber and tomatoes and vinegar dressing, then these spring roll type things with flakey crusts and meat and carrots and other veggies inside, then quiche with ham in it. After that some unsweetened yogurt and I crumbled some dark and milk chocolate with nuts into it along with a heavy helping of sugar. Then, of course, a nectarine, gotta have my nectarine!!!
After that I went upstairs with Margaux and Xenya and we watched the movie which was in French with English subtitles. It was interesting and had me going but it’s not the kind of movie I would watch again. Then I took my last shower and went to bed. I actually didn’t get to sleep until about 3:30AM and then I got up at 6 in the morning so I got very little sleep.

Day 18

Thursday, Today I got up and had cereal. Then I watched an MI5 and Penelope. Then around 6 we went to the city center of Villneuve which is the area that Margaux lives in, on the other side of the Rhine as Avignon. It was lovely with an entire city from the middle ages that people are still living in today. The walls are covered in ivy and the doors are about as tall as I am. It was like walking through someplace straight out of Harry Potter (which by the way I will be seeing very shortly!!!!!) I took lots and lots of pictures. We had to go late in the day when the sun was going down because Margaux has had a really bad reaction to the sun burn she got on Sunday and she can’t go out in the sun for 10 days. She is walking around in all black with a big black scarf wrapped around her head like a Burka. We came back and I finished Penelope then we had dinner. We had salad with the vinegar dressing and bread, then some fried rice. Then the usual dessert except this time we but bits of chocolate in our yogurt because it wasn’t very sweet and it was fairly bland. I then went up, took a shower and then watched The Little Princess and then On the Wings of the Dove. I talked on skype then went to bed. It was so hot!!!! I couldn’t believe it!! Just sitting still I was sweating, not just sticky but actually sweating!!!!!!! I don’t think it will be this hot in Paris! I hope not!

Day 17

Wednesday, today I got up and had cereal and got ready. I played around on my computer for a bit and then around 6 we went to Pont Du Garde the really famous old Roman Aqueduct. It was fantastic!!! First I went into the museum which was very much like the children’s museum in the center house. It was a bit of a let down because I was hoping to see actual artifacts and so on but instead there were just little dioramas with figurines in roman costumes struggling to build the aqueduct. I did learn a lot though and the museum was interesting. When I was done I met back up with Margaux, her mom, Xenya and Lisa, and then we ate hoagie sandwiches. I had a bacon with brie (though I think it was ham not bacon, I mean it wasn’t what we think of a bacon, I know that ham and bacon are both pig, You get what I’m trying to say) after eating we went to the Aqueduct. It was breath taking. Giant and spectacular It was imposing and grand. I loved it!!!!!!
Then we came back and I had a glass of water and then went up and got ready for bed.

Day 16

Tuesday, I’m going to have to start thinking of packing up all my stuff pretty soon for I’m off to Paris on Sunday. Can’t Wait!!! Today I got up and had cereal. It was really hot today. In the afternoon I went with Margaux’s mom and Gauthier to go shopping. They went to this big place that is just like a mall with clothing stores and everything and a lot a giant supermarket like Fren Meyer right in the center. While they went to buy groceries or faire les courses, I went walking around the mall area. I went into the electronics and book store (like barns and noble) and found some really interesting cook books but I didn’t buy them. We then returned home and I putsed around until dinner time. We had salad, the Lyon specialty (dough logs in tomato sauce and cheese, and then yogurs and fruit for dessert.

Day 15

Monday, I got up at 11:30, got dressed then went downstairs and had cereal for breakfast along with a nectarine. Margaux’s brothers are back and its nice to see them again. Margaux was sick today because she got a really bad sun burn yesterday and had a bad reaction. So, because I wanted to go to the Petit Palais which is right next to the Pope’s Palace and because her brothers wanted to go see L’Age De La Glace (just guess what that is) I went to Avignon with them. Their mom drove us there and then while they went to the movie I went to the museum. The reason I wanted to go so much was in part for sight seeing but also because there was a Simone Martini Exhibit going on and I studied him in art history class and loved his stuff. The whole place was wonderful! The art work but also the building itself was spectacular to see. The ceilings were just as wonderful to look at as the paintings. Beautifully patterned wooden panels with lovely designs accentuating the edges! The art work was to die for as well! Being a religious building and location all the works were religious depicting saints and holy figures. That didn’t bother me though, the skill and beauty of them was incredible and they were all stunning no matter their subject matter. Some of my favorites were the Virgin and Child Paintings in the Simone Martini exhibit. They weren’t all by him, some were by his contemporaries. I got a lot of pictures of designs and motifs, things I can use for my artistic enterprises! My camera decided it would run out of batteries half was through, but I managed to use it sparingly and trick it into thinking it had more juice than it did so I got all the really important pictures I wanted. After that I met up with Franck and Gauthier at 6 and we took the bus home. I putsed around for a bit and then we had dinner at 8:45. We had tomato and cucumber salad in a vinegar and oil dressing. That was really good, I love cucumber. After that we had tartiflette again, but I think her mom took it out of the oven too soon. It’s potato slices, milk, cheese (mozzarella I think), and ham in a dish with grated cheese over the top all baked in the oven. It’s really good but not cooking it all the way meant the potatoes were still crunchy and they hadn’t soaked up the milk so it was very liquid like soup rather than a casserole type dish. After that we had yogurt and fruit. I just had a nectarine because I have had too much yogurt lately. Then off to shower and then bed and skyping.

Day 14

So today we got up at 10 AM and had breakfast. They ate soooo much it was insane! Two bowls of cereal each with Nutella dollops on the top, two yogurt cups each, bread with Nutella, and chocolate chip cookies! Then we went to the beach around 11:30 and laid in the sun, incredibly thrilling. I then wanted to go swimming so we went in for about 15 minutes then came back out. It was so much fun, the waves were huge and rolling and almost swamped me every time they came by. I wanted to stay in longer but oh well. They then went back to lying in the sun, I tried to cover up as much as possible so as not to get a sunburn because there was no shade anywhere! We had lunch on the beach, which we packed. We had pizza which one of them cooked earlier and there was a not so delicious layer of charcoal along to bottom of the slices which were already thin crust to begin with. After the pizza we had pasta with tomato sauce and then they had more Nutella on bread and apples with nutella on them and more cookies! Way too much food! We stayed on the beach until 3:30, much too long in my opinion and I did come away with a burn on the backs of my legs and a very appealing triangle on my lower back due to my t-shirt riding up in the wind. Then, though they didn’t want to, I got us all going to see Notre-Dame de la Garde, a really old cathedral. Because we couldn’t get to go to the Chateau d’If due to weather conditions and stupid school groups, I wanted to get some kind of sightseeing in before we left the oldest city in France. So we took the bus, the church is on the top of a hill so it looks down over all of Marseille. When the bus mounted the hill I got off and was amazed. The building is made with alternating stripes of white and pale green stones and its tall tower is topped with a huge gold statue. I had 15 minutes to explore before the next bus came so I was a bit rushed. I walked up the stairs, up to the top level then entered the arched doorway. There were two spinning clear glass doors, one entrance the other exit, on either side of a carved dark wooden panel. Because of this I couldn’t see in to the room, I could only see the votive candles off to either side which lined the inner walls. So I spun through the right door and what I saw took my breath away. The room was long and rectangular with stunning glittering gold floral mosaics lining the arched and vaulted ceilings. There was decoration and mosaic everywhere, on every surface and the entire room shone and glittered from the candlelight. There was a service going on and the crowded room was full of beautiful singing which only added to the atmosphere. I could not believe it, it was like every slide I had seen of ancient churches in art history class come to life! Amazing!
After that thrilling experience, we went back to the apartment, cleaned and packed up then caught the bus, the subway, the train, then finally picked up by Margaux’s dad and came back to her house. For dinner, salad, sausage, pizza, then yogurt and fruit. And then shower and bed.

Day 13

Saturday, got up around 12, had breakfast around 1 and then sat down to write this stuff and redo some stuff on my zune. Then around 4 Xenya and Lisa arrived and we all went to the beach. We sat around there for a while but never swam. I took a few pictures and videos. There was this girl, about 12, who was standing along the water and she obviously thought she was in her own little world and that nobody was watching her because she was doing some nice Michael Jackson dance routines! It was very cute and I got some video, it made me smile which lightened my mood some. After that we went back to the apartment and had dinner, tomato soup, tartiflette? (basically potatoes baked in melted cheese), and then yogurt and chocolate. We then hunkered down and watched Catch Me If You Can in English with French subtitles. After that we went to bed, I slept on the floor this time which was hard but not terrible, I can rough-it you see.

Day 12

Friday, got up at 1, got ready, had some cornflakes with mixed red berries in it, we went to Marseille to get the boat to the château d’If but it was too windy so we couldn’t go. BUMMER!!! So we went shopping instead. I didn’t find anything I liked and the stores were fairly run down. I don’t have a high opinion of Marseille at this point but I think that mat be due to the combination of being in a new strange place and a bit of annoyance aimed at the company I was keeping. Oh and by the way Marseille doesn’t have Harry Potter in English so I will have to wait till I get to Paris. AHHHHHHHRGH! Oh well I guess after missing the special midnight showing one more week won‘t make a difference. I did get some nice yarn and knitting needles here and I have started a scarf so that is productive. We had lunch in Marseille, I had a chicken, mozzarella, and tomato Panini and then a nutella crepe, very yummy. After shopping we came back around 6:30, sat around and I knitted and then around 9 we had dinner. We had cucumber again for appetizer and then some pasta with tomato sauce for diner and some chocolate yogurt and cookies again for desert. We then watched Calendar Girls in French with English subtitles, it was good though I wish I could have heard all their Yorkshire accents. We then went to bead around 1 in the morning with the same sleeping arrangements as before.

Day 11

Thursday, got up and got ready around 11:30, took the train at 1:12 , a half an hour ride to Marseille, got here, took the subway out of the train station then the bus from downtown Marseille out to the "boonys" or Luminy as they like to call it, where the apartment is. Very tiny apartment, basically one room with two closets: one is the kitchen and the other the bathroom. Its Mahault’s brothers apartment, he is not here and when we got here we had to clean EVERYTHING because it was disgusting! Then around 6 we went to the beach, it was an hour walk through woodsy areas and down steep rough rocky paths but it was splendid! Of course I forgot to bring my camera like a dufous but I will draw some of the landscape so you get a sense of what it looks like. I swam in the Mediterranean there! It was warm, well lukewarm kind of chilly but nothing like the Sound. It was beautiful, there was a giant rock/boulder in the little niche I was swimming in and a man was jumping of the top of it over and over again and he had a really cute black lab mixed dog who kept struggling up on to the rock after the man and following him up onto the peak and then frantically running to and fro after the man jumped wondering whether he should jump to or wait for the man to climb back up. After that we cam back cleaned up and had dinner. Cucumber slices as appetizer and then some rice for dinner. Then some chocolate yogurt and some Greek chocolate and raspberry cookies for me! Yum! We had packed all the food and brought it with us and for some reason Mahault thought she would put the yogurt in the bottom of her backpack! Well when we started unpacking it all, several had popped and squirted all over the inside of the pack, no surprises there. Oh well. Harumph. After dinner we went to bed, I got the fold out bed and they slept on foam on the floor.

Day 10

Wednesday, I got up at 1 and had chocolate flake cereal, I then worked a bit on typing up my blog here and got all ready and packed for going to Marseille tomorrow, for 4 days! I am all packed in my one back pack, that is very good for me, very conservative and I am proud of myself.

Day 9

Tuesday, Bastille Day the 14th, Margaux’s mom, Margaux and I went to the Popes Palace. It was FANTASTIC! Old gothic architecture and wonderful artwork and sculptures! I was in heaven!! I am so excited to get to Paris to see all the big churches and cathedrals! Margaux’s mom left after seeing the palace and then Margaux and I met up with her friends and we all went to see Public Enemies in French with no subtitles in a dinky tiny movie theater with a screen just a bit bigger than a big flat screen TV and no air conditioning. All in all not the best conditions for it was stiflingly hot and muggy outside. After that Margaux, Lisa, Mahault, Xenya and I went across the river to a house that I think Lisa’s parents own and which sits right on the river, for dinner and then to watch the fireworks. We had hot dog wieners and some rice stuff which I didn’t like all that much. Then we had pie and cake because it was Lisa’s sisters birthday. We then went to watch the fireworks. The event began with a group of dancers on the Pont d’Avignon bridge in period clothing doing period dances to period music that was blasted from the palace. It was a lot of fun to watch though they looked like little pin people due to the distance. Then when they finished the fireworks began. They were wonderful and had a good amount of variety even though they were being shot from one small area right on the edge of the river. There were two that I really liked, one kind shot up many little balls of fire and then separated and fell like fairy dust so it looked just like Tinker Bell’s dust in Peter Pan. The other kind I liked shot fire balls out onto the river and sat floating there like great burning candles, very beautiful. Around midnight the festivities were over and we returned to Margaux’s house and I went to bed.

Day 8

Monday, I got up and had cereal and then Margaux’s mom, Margaux, and I went to buy my train ticket to Paris. We had to go to the ticket office because my discount card for being under 21 wouldn’t work online. So I got my ticket and then we went to the bakery and got bread, French bread, and then went to the pharmacy because they needed stuff. The Pharmacy was small but it looked like one of the health food stores you can go into, nothing fancy or out of the ordinary, except for everything being in French. We then went back to the house and Xenya and Lisa came over and the four of us walked up the road to the horse stables and watched Lisa ride for a little while. The horses were beautiful and I am so excited to get to Ireland now!!! After that we walked back to the house and went swimming. After swimming Xenya and Lisa left and Margaux’s mom prepared a delicious dinner - salad with the vinegar dressing, then some Fuilletés dû Poirau avec Salmon which are little pies with salmon and leeks inside them and they are absolutely AMAZING!!!! (I know, leeks, right? Who knew, I of all people would like leeks! I guess I am growing up, like everyone has been telling me, and my tastes are expanding! Ha!) After that we had a specialty of Lyon which consisted of soft doughy logs covered in tomato sauce and melted cheese over the top, in a way a mix between lasagna and gnocchi. After that we had the usual desert of yogurt and fruit. Then bed.

Day 7

Sunday, today after having cereal and getting up around noon, Margaux’s mom, Margaux Xenya, and I went to Avignon to the theater museum where there was an exhibit of Gerard Philipe who basically began the theater festival in Avignon. In that museum there was an expansive display of puppets which were interesting. There were some old shadow puppets which I always like to look at because they are so pretty and detailed. We came back to Margaux’s house for lunch, and then around 7:30 we hurriedly left for Avignon again because we wanted to see a performance at 8. At 8 there was to be a show by the "TWINS" who are, believe it or not, twins, brothers, who are wonderful dancers. They do the hip hop/pop/ street style dancing, they are black with big afros and were really fun to watch. Their show was about an hour long and it was loosely linked to the theme of from birth to death but obviously focusing on their moves rather that telling a story. They were great, funny, and entertaining. After that we walked around, saw some fire dances which I took video of and also looked at the other spectacles going on in the streets like magicians and musicians. There was even to native American singers and musicians there! After that we came back and I went to bed.

Day 6

Saturday, today was really mostly uneventful. I got up as usual, had cereal, got ready and then in the late evening Margaux, Xenya, and I went over to Mahault’s house because she was having a party. We had some pizza and some Greek cheese for dinner there and then waited around for everyone to arrive. When the three boys came over they all talked and talked and talked and then they put on their swim suits and got in the pool for about 2 seconds then into the jacussi. I did not want to go swimming so instead Margaux’s mom came and picked me up and I went back while Margaux stayed the night and Mahault’s house. So ya very uneventful.

Day 5

Friday, today I got up, got ready, had some cereal and then I, Margaux, and Xenya rode bikes to Lisa’s house (Margaux rode on the handle bars of Xenya’s bike, a very funny ride that was too as she kept leaping off every time Xenya began to wobble). Once there, they all got ready, I lost my phone but then after a few minutes of panic I found it again out in the driveway. Finally after an enormous amount of time spent in the bathroom they were ready and we hopped the bus and went to Avignon. We climbed the hill along side the Pope’s Palace through gardens and playgrounds. From the top there was an amazing view over the Pont D’Avignon and the rest of the city. It was so incredibly windy up there! I took video so you can see for yourself just how windy and how beautiful it was. On the way back down we passed by a collection of child strollers that were available for people to use. I thought they were so cute that I took a picture, they are little chariots with horses to lead them.
We walked around some, looking at the vendors and street performers and then around 8 or so we went and ate Chinese food. It was pretty good, just the same as in Seattle really, except for everyone speaking French instead of English. After eating we went and met up with a few of Margaux’s friends and we walked along the Marche d’Artisans which was interesting and a lot like Pike Place except everything was outdoors in tents and there was no produce or food vendors. After that we went back to Lisa’s house by bus, got the bikes and rode home.

Day 4

Thursday, today I got up at 6 in the morning and got ready and had cereal for breakfast. Everyone (parents, Margaux, me, the brothers, and the dog Cookie) packed up in the car at 7:30 and got ready for a long ride to Montpelier. First we dropped Cookie off at Doggy Daycare, then we began the hour drive. Margaux will be going to school in Montpelier next year and will be living in an apartment. Her school is really neat and old and her apartment is very big considering its on the top floor and in the center of a crowded city. The city is very lovely with some really old buildings and a statue of The Three Graces and also a bronze copy of the Apollo Belvedere which I was so excited to see!!! (Having studied that sculpture practically all year in my art history classes). We had lunch there and I swear it took half an hour for us to pick a restaurant to eat at. We just kept doing circles until finally everyone was just too tired to go any further and we just sat down at the nearest table. I got a salad with lots of oily vinigar dressing, some giant slices of motzerella cheese, cucumber, tomato , and procutto. It was pretty good apart from the dressing which was a bit to oily for me. Margaux and her mom got salades to start with, and then everyone apart from me got a big plate filled with salad, a steak, and two saussage links! That was a lot of food! After that we went back to the car and drove by these massive salt mountains, and then to this really old old old castle, I took pictures.
We then drove to the marina where Margaux’s dad went inside to try and get sails for their sail boat. Margaux and I had slept on the way there because we were pooped out! Once there however, I woke up and as Franck (brother who is 17) went inside to help his dad, I talked to Gauthier (brother who is 14) and tried to get him to talk in English because I was too tired to talk in French! We talked about movies, music, and all kinds of things. He is a very nice little boy and I took video of him which is so cute! We talked between half an hour and an hour and then finally the sails was worked out and we went back to pick up Cookie and completed the journey. We got back and I putsed around for a while until dinner. Margaux went off to a party of a guy she didn’t really know because Myo didn’t want to go alone, they invited me to go along but they weren’t going to be back until 5 in the morning and I was really tired so I decided t o have a nice relaxing night.
So Margaux left and I had dinner with the rest of the family and then went off up to bed to read and talk on skype.

Day 3

Wednesday, I got up at noon and had cereal and a piece of toast with apricot jam and then played on my computer until 3 when one of Margaux’s friends came over. Her name is Myo. We played cards, they taught me Le President and I taught them speed. After playing for a bit we had a snack, I had some more cereal and they had a bunch of other stuff. They then checked the bus times, we left for the bus stop but had missed the bus and so we had to wait 20 min. for the next one. While we waited an aid car drove by and the man in the passenger seat waved at us, we paid him no attention. A few minutes later they drove back up the street, honked and waived again! These Frenchies!
We took the bus when it came and went to Avignon to walk around and for Myo to meet one of her friends who had a half hour break from work. I found a really cute store and bought something. Today was the first day of the festival but we did not stay for any of the spectacles. Instead we came back and had pasta for dinner and I found out that there will be another American girl in my Paris home stay when I am there and I am so excited!
Oh by the way, just to explain this last picture; it is a picture of the bike racks in Avignon, I don't know how they work but I had never seen them before so I caught them on camera (as if they were going anywhere)

Day 2

Tuesday the 7th, I woke up at 11:50 to my cell’s alarm clock. I went downstairs for my first breakfast in France! I had cereal, very much like Special Kay, and a piece of bread with apricot jam on one half and raspberry on the other half (I wanted to try both kinds). After that I got ready and Margaux’s mom drove Margaux and I to Avignon. Margaux and I met up with her two friends, Xenia (Senya), and Lisa. We were there both for sight seeing for me and also because they all could find out how they did on the BAC, a major test. They go to school right in Avignon, which was the seat of one of the Popes when there were two in the middle ages so it is a wonderful old castle with great atmosphere. They all three did very well on their exams and after learning their grades Margaux, Xenia and I went (Lisa stayed at the school) walking around Avignon. We got ice cream, I got one scoop of passion fruit (passion) and one scoop of lemon (citrus) in a cone. It was delicious! We sat to eat our ice cream on a bench encircling a tree and to watch the parade that was advertising the theater events during the festival which started the next day. While we sat there was this woman in a cowboy hat who was standing a few feet in front of us, facing in our direction, and taking a lot of pictures of the trees and sky. I saw her surreptitiously look down at us and then after a moment slowly lower her camera to focus on us and took a few pictures! Then she just walked away! I looked at Xenia, for we both had seen her doing it and we laughed.
Because the festival was starting the next day every surface imaginable was covered in posters. The walls, the streets, people hading out flyers, even the bike racks lining the streets had cardboard and posters tied to them! There were people in all kinds of dress, clowns, renaissance, gorillas, dancers, everything!
We then went to Lisa’s house by bus. She has a giant brown and tan dog who was very cute and roly poly. Margaux’s mother came with Franc, Margaux’s brother, and picked Margaux, Xenia, and I up and took us back the Margaux’s house. Once there we sat down to a very delicious dinner. We started with bread sticks, then moved on to olives and slices of tomato and cucumber in oil and vinegar (yummy!!), then some cantaloupe, then pasta in white cheese sauce, then came desert which was yogurt, bread and cheese. I had the yogurt (lemon flavored) and a plum.
After dinner we all went swimming in the pool, Margaux, Xenia, me, Franck, and Gauthier. It was a lot of fun. The whole day was great!

Up To Speed, Day One

My adventure began the 5th of July, this past sunday. I arrived at SEATAC at 5:30 in the morning (waaaaay to early by the way) and then I said goodbye to mom and dad and went through check in then on to the other side, the great beyond of arrivals and departures. I went and sat by the windows and renamed a bunch of songs on zune to pass the time (3 hours!). Then the time finally came when I felt I could go and wait for boarding outside the gate so I moseyed over, found the gate and also found a Tully's so I bought a sandwich to eat when I got hungry.
And so I boarded the plane.
It was an uneventful and relatively short trip. I had a layover in Chicago so the flight was about 4 hours I think. I sat on the isle which was fine, though I do like to sit by the window I have discovered a new liking for the isle-more space! Next to me sat a German boy, roughly my age and we talked a bit but not much. I read The Hobbit to pass the time and played some cards. We finally landed and I hade 3 hours to kill before my next flight. So I found my gate, sat down, and ate my sandwich and played a bit more on my computer. There were people all around speaking french so it was interesting to just listen as well.
When the time came I packed up, stood in line, and then boarded the plane. I walked all the way to the back of the plane. I was again on the isle and I was sitting in the second to last row of the plane. This plane was bigger however so I was on the right of the center three seats with a row of 2 seats on either side. I ended up sitting next to an Albanian boy, named Valdetch? and nicknamed Nino, who will be a junior next year and then next to him a very talkative and friendly Serbian older gentleman. I finished The Hobbit of that flight and also had some very fun and interesting conversations with the two previously mentioned people. That flight was too long, 8 hours I believe but the conversation made the time move by faster.
Then we landed in Paris! At Charles De Gaulle airport! I was excited and also scared, you can imagine! France! With french people and everything written in French! I got off the plane, went through customs (uneventful, they just stamped my passport and sent me on my way), then found baggage claim and claimed my bag. All through this I was trying and trying my cell, trying to get the thing to call home so I could have someone to talk to. But though T-mobile assured me that it would work I couldn't get service anywhere. I actually wasn't that worried or freaked out at this point. It was like one of those times that you read about in a book where it everything seems like a dream. I was just walking, through CDG which is huge by the way. I knew I had to get some money out of the machine and that I had to buy my train (TGV) ticket so those were my goals and I had a focus which kept me level. I asked the help guy (in french) and he told me where to go to get both of those things. I got the money and then I walked for EVER to get to the train section to buy my ticket. I asked again to be directed to where to buy the TGV tickets and I went there. The man I finally bought it from was very kind and he spoke english to me. With both my ticket and my money I started thinking about my phone again. It still didn't work and I couldn't get online because I didn't know how to set up paying for WiFi in the airport se that was when I began to get panicky. I started walking all the way back through the airport trying to find someplace that might sell phones and also to relocate a public computer I had remembered passing. I found the computer but it kicked me off before I could send an email so I kept going. Then I bought a pay card and found a public telephone and called home. Mom answered and she told me to turn my cell off then on again. I did so. What do ya know but I had service! The world was better again, well slightly for I was still in a foreign country alone.
After that I had to just figure out what to do before my train which was at 1 and it was about 10:30 at this time. So I sat and charged my phone and read and tried not to cry.
Getting on the train was a bother too. I couldn't figure out where to go for the longest time and then I gave in and asked the information lady. She told me and I went, sat, waited, then boarded the train after running down to the opposite end (I was at the back not the front of the train). I got on and... couldn't find my seat! Holy Crap will this travel story never end!!! Well my suit case is large and heavy and after walking from one end of the car to the other I just gave up and say in the closest available seat. I t was fine, the train ride was 3 hours long and I slept for about an hour and a half.
Then the ticket taker came by.
Of course he told me to move, in French, and pointed vaguely down to the other end of the car and so I dragged out my luggage and schlepped down there. My seat was not at the end of the car so I wnt through the door into the little loading space between cars (all closed in, not open to the air) left my big case in there and went into the next car which was about four rows of seats, very small. I asked if my seat was in there and they said no. So out I went and asked the other ticket taker where my seat was. He told me is didn't exist!! He said I was on the right train going to Avignon and in the right car, #8, but that seat #1 did not exist. So I went back into the muddle section and sat down on a sad little fold down chair with luggage and a odd girl with a cigarette that wasn't lit thank goodness! After a few moments sitting there wondering how I would get comfortable, a young man (Russian I think) from the small car came out and asked me if I wanted to sit in an empty chair in their car. I said sure! I ended up sitting next to a woman and her 10 year old son and across from the nice Russian backpackers. After a few stops the Russian boys got off and three loud and charismatic french sisters took their place. The whule thing was great! I talked with the sisters who spoke some english and also with the french boy and his mother. A 9mo old little girl then came back with her father and she was soooo cute and started playing cars with the boy. The whole thing turned out wonderful!!!
When the train stopped I got off, found Margaux and her mother and her brother and we went home.
Once there, three of Margaux's friends came over and we went swimming in her pool! It was a lot of fun and the were really nice and I never felt uncomfortable once. Then we had dinner which consisted of bread, salad with spicy fresh sauce, a sort of thin pizza, some rice, mushroom and eggplant stew, and then finished it off with yogurt (I had a cherry one).
So that was day one. I hope you didn't get too bored reading it all. I'll try not to make my next ones as long, but I just have soooo much to say!!

BONJOUR!!!

Hello Everyone!! I am so excited that I finally get to really start my blog! I'm sorry for the delay but it took a while to get the WiFi to work with my little laptop. But now it's up and running and I can get writing! Pictures are comming soon, I have to go through them and pick ou the cute ones and the ones that will be interesting for you to look at without really knowing where they were taken. I was going picture crazy today so there are a lot to go through. Anyways, I just wanted to check in and let everyone know that I got here (FRANCE!!!) safely and all that. I'll come bace a bit later when I have more time to write my trip's complete story thus farincluding what I had for dinner every night! Aren't you excited?!! It's day 4! Can you believe it? I'm not sure I can, it's going so fast!

I love you all!!! Have a wonderful day!!!

Nothing Yet. Welcome!

Nothing yet, just waiting, waiting for the moment when my wonderful adventures begin!