2 Jours à Paris
So the other day I spent the night at my friend Alison's house and her mom ended up having some extra tickets to Cirque du Soleil in Paris and asked us if we wanted to go. We were obviously up for it, who wouldn't want to go to Paris for an overnight trip to see CDS?
So we took the train down to Paris from Brussels and had a great time. We first headed over to the hostel where me and Alison were staying to drop off our bags. The hostel wasn't amazing but it was about a 10 minute walk from the Eiffel Tower so we were happy about that. We were basically wasted when we got to Paris because we had to wake up so early. So we decided to stop in a cafe and get som caffinated beverages and try to wake up a little.
We spent a good part of the morning trying to get to the Luxembourg Gardens, which were recommended to me by Bailey. When we got there, it was sunny but within about 5 minutes we heard a huge bang of thunder. We looked up and saw the blackest clouds EVER. Within another five minutes it was on us, pouring. We had to stop in the middle of the street and wait under a little legde. When we thought the rain couldn't get any worse, it started hailing. of course, why wouldn't it hail in Paris when we were there? Why wouldn't the clouds follow us from Belgium?
Pauline, Alison's host mom, wanted to do a little shopping because pretty much every store in Europe is having sales right now, so we went to Les Halls and did a little shopping. Then we were right by the Georges Pompidou Center and me and Alison had looked up an exposition we wanted to check out. It was called Les Airs de Paris and it was all about how the city affects life. It had some really cool stuff but considering it was at the modern art museum there were some things that I looked at it and was basically like um.. what? It was definitely worth it though, and especially because me and Alison got in for free. You gotta love being under 18 in Europe while everything is free.
Then we had a quick dinner in a cafe and went to Cirque du Soleil Alegria. It was insane. One of the coolest things ever. People were bending in ways I didn't know it was possible to bend. It was impossible to take your eyes off of it but it was really amazing, it was one of the coolest things ever.
After that Pauline went to her sister's house and me and Alison went up to Sacré Coeur to check out the view. I have to admit i was upset when the rain first came but by night it had stopped and it had cleared up all the pollution so we had the most beautiful view of Paris. It was amazing. We took the last metro back to the hostel and pretty much past out on our beds.
We had to wake up semi-early to go pick up Kirsten at Gare Du Nord and us, being smart said ya know what, let's leave our bags in a locker there so we don't have to go back to the hostel later or anything. So after that we tried to go to the Louvre but found out it's closed on Tuesdays when we thought it was closed on Monday. I wasn't too upset about it though, I'd already been there twice.
So we went over to the catacombs of Paris. I really recommend going there, it's a little off the beaten path, and it's really cheap. It only cost 3.50 to get in and it's great. We ended up talking to some French guy in line and we became friends and once we got down in there he knew like everything about it. It was nuts. He told us everything about everything, I don't know how he knew so much, it was like having a free tour guide. So to explain the catacombs, in the 1700's there were a lot of diseases going around Paris because of improper burials so close to ground, so they took a bunch of the bodies and put them underground in the catacombs.. that and they needed the space from cemetaries for building new things.. Anyway, it is insane. I thought it would be really cool and I would enjoy it the whole time but once i got down there and I was that close to REAL human bones like that.. I started freaking out. I think this was the point in my life when I decided I cannot do anything medical. What was really interesting was they had a bunch of realy morbid saying ingraved everywhere, like my favorite was at the entrance, it said "Arretez, ici, c'est la mort" or in English, Stop, Death is here.
After that we went to another cafe and people watched for a little bit. Then we went to the Saint Sulpice chapel (think Da Vinci Code) and saw the original Rose Line. I actually liked that chapel a whole lot better than Notre Dame. It's true that if you're in Paris, seeing ND is a must but after seeing it once, it's kinda like ok now that's done with..
By then it was late afternoon so we went to the Trocodaro to just hang out, people watch and look at the Eiffel Tower. We grabbed some sandwiches for dinner and ate watching the elevator go up and down and the clouds move around, just chilling mostly. We got up cuz we had to get to our train and started to walk down the Troc but eveything was fenced off. We were confused so we asked a cop guarding and he said that they were preparing fireworks for the national holiday and we had to go all the way around on a 20 mintue walk. Then Kirsten had to go to the bathroom so we waited in line for it at the bottom of the tower.
After that we basically had to truck it to the nearest RER station (for those who don't know the RER is a train, bigger than the metro, smaller than international) so we got on the train and we had a couple stops to go and I was realy stressing about time. We had to change and there were these giant sets of stairs that i basically sprinted down and in the process my camera fell out. At first I freaked out cuz he's brand new but I picked it up and turned it on and it worked so I took off running again. We finally got to Gare Du Nord and we had a little more than 10 minutes to get on the train and I sprinted all the way across the gare, which is one of the most confusing things ever. I finally got over to the lockers to get our stuff and I had to walk though security and I beeped and I had to get wanded which only stressed me out more.
I had a little trouble with the lockers but finally got it open, i had no idea where Kirsten or Alison were so I grabbed both bags and Alison's happened to be open and when I started running again, some stuff fell out and the security guard called me back and all I saw was a notebook and some random Paris brochures so I picked them up and ran again. I got up for the platform where our train was supposed to be and found the girls. Then we tried to get on and realized we didn't have our tickets so we started tearing Alison's bag apart and didn't find them so I asked the nearest train worker if they could wait 2 min for us and she told me to ask the manager and told me which one he was and I asked Kirsten to ask him while I ran back down to the lockers to try to find the tickets. I see Kirsten run straight past him so I run over and ask if they could wait and he says no. By this time I have 2 minutes until the train leaves. I sprinted back down to the lockers and found the tickets on the ground and ran back up and started yelling at Alison that I had to tickets and to pick everything up. She had torn apart her bag looking for them and her clothes were all over the platform, so I grabbed a huge armful of clothes and she took our two bags and we ran to the nearest door but the woman said we couldn't get on there cuz it was first class. We ran one more door down and the whistle was blowing and we begged the man to let us on even tho it was still first class and thankfully he did. Once I got on the train I basically passed out.
I still had the adrenaline in me after we got on the train and we finaly found Kirsten and Pauline so we started telling Pauline about our day, cuz she went off on her own. We tried to explain the catacombs to her but she didn't really understand and I said I had pictures. I took my camera out but none of the pictures were there and that's when I figured out that my card had fallen out when it fell down the stairs. That was just the straw that broke the camel's back and I broke down and started crying. And that is why there are no Paris pictures.
COMING HOME IN 5 DAYS!!
Bisous,
Chelsea
the photos..
so here are the photos, i tried to put on a song too, it's in spanish and i really have absolutely no idea what it means but i still like it anyway. it motivates me to learn spanish.
chillin on the beach
this is my favorite pic that i took there..
suzanna, emily and me in front of the sagrada familia for lucnh.. yeah we're tourists
me in park guell
the most exciting street in the world
the soccer field
¡Barthelona!
I just passed some wonderful vacation in Spain. It was amazing, I love that city. I know that some people don't like it because it's a little crazy but that's what I loved about it, all the randomness.
So I had to be in Brux by 1 in the afternoon to take the bus and of course it was late, why wouldn't it be? There began my 18 hour bus ride.. We had to go to 2 other cities in Belgium to pick up the other students so they got a little less time than we did on the bus, lucky.
We went with a buncha South Americans and at first I thought I was going to kill myself. I have nothing racially against the Latinos but I don't know what it is about busses that makes them want to sing. Very loudly. With the biggest noise maker I've ever seen in my life. After a few hours they stopped, thankfully, then we watched The Green Mile and all fell asleep.
When we woke up, we were in Barcelona! We basically got off the bus (no hotel, no shower), felt disgusting but had a few hours of free time. Me and some friends just went exploring around and actually ran into a childrens soccer field and it was so fun to watch them play. We stayed there for about an hour watching them just because it was so classic. It was a crappy little field oh dirt with a bunch of ghetto buildings all hanging their laundry out and I loved it. We also checked out the 'world's most exciting street' but I forgot the real name of it. After our free time we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe and I sat next to Weezer and Counting Crows guitars so I was pretty happy about that. Then we had a guided tour of the center of town but I don't think any of us were up for that. it was really hot, we didn't get a whole lot of sleep on the bus the night before and none of us had showered so unfortunately I think we seemed a little rude to the guide because we had such a short attention span.
Our hotel was about 40 min away from the city but RIGHT on the beach. We pretty much walked 2 mintues and we hit sand. The first night there we had a little party on the beach, just hangin out, it was pretty fun.
The next day we went to Park Guell, which was designed by Gaudi. I have to say, that man is a genius. His works are amazing. We spent the morning there then we had a couple of hours of free time in the center again. After that we went to Sagrada Familia and I just hope that it will be finished before I'm dead. That cathedral will be so beautiful. Thankfully, we went back to the hotel pretty early that night. We were all completely exhausted so we came back and had a little nap or went swimming in the pool or ocean and just relaxed then had another little party on the beach.
The next morning we had to wake up early which sucked but we got to visit Casa Batllo, another one of Gaudi's works. That man was so gifted it's hard to believe. In the house he got rid of all straight lines and everything in there was based on something from the sea. His creativity just amazes me.
Then we headed over to the Picasso museum and that was very interesting but still not as good as the Van Gogh museum or the Gaudi things. Some of it was really cool but Picasso just isn't exactly my style. After that we had some more free time where me and some friends went down to the beach that's just off downtown and just hung out there for a little bit. It was so good to see palm trees and sand and water that isn't freezing. Then we went to eat a real Spanish dinner which was actually really good, even tho it was sea food. The only thing that turned me off was the shrimp just cuz I can't stand them. It's like they look at me with their little beady eyes from my plate. Anyway, it was pretty good. Then we were onto the bus.. again. Only this time everyone was WAY too tired to sing. Basically we sat down on the bus and it was like someone turned the swtich off, we all passed out within an hour.
Overall it was a great trip but there was only one thing I was disappointed in and it was that I wasn't with all my Brussels Crew. I was with a bunch of people from another city called Liège and it was cool I like them but it was kinda like a one last hoorah for them all together and I missed my closer friends. But not a huge deal, I'll definitely say bye to them too.
some photos..
me and perrine
benoit et perrine
i love this woman, pascale!
Alison, Brazil (yes, that is his name. No, he's not Brazilian, he's Mexican), Clement, Me
Just another update..
School is now over and I was fairly depressed about it. I'm really going to miss my friends from there. But I did do my very best and managed not to cry (although I did get a little misty eyed a couple times). I got a giant belge flag and got a good amount of my friends to sign it but I'm still missing a couple. I think I'm gonna have a little goodbye party at the house so I can get a real goodbye for my Belges.
the other day I had dinner with the Denis and I miss that family so much it's ridiculous. It was so funny, Perrine was telling me that Benoit dropped a rock on his foot at work so they thought he'd broken it but they weren't sure. Just then he walked in the door hobbling with a cane and Perrine started laughing out loud at him. Pascale is also having problems with her back, something with her spinal discs and she has to be in bed for two weeks. She is fairly upset about that, she definitely likes to move around.
On Tuesday I had to give my presentation to Rotary about my exchange year. I had to talk about my host families, why I chose Belgium, where I come from, yada yada yada.. I do have to say I think I did a good job selling Utah, I had about 5 Rotarians ask me what season was the best to come to Utah cuz they wanted to come visit. They gave me this really cool book as a gift for my year here, it pretty much sums up Belgium. It's about frite shacks :)
Tomorrow I head to Barcelona and I have one LONG bus ride ahead of me. And I am feeling a little sick today so I'm hoping it will be over by then cuz I will be VERY upset if I have to stay in bed the whole time. So you'll be sure to get a blog about that one.
Bisous,
Chelsea
LOVE <3
= Dave Matthews
Definitely one of the best concerts of my life, I had been waiting for this one since I was about 12.
I went with some friends, Kelsey, Charlie, Emily, Marcos and Alison. When we got to the venue, there was actually a line for the concert and we got there fairly early, so that's saying a lot for Belgium. We were in general admission so that was really cool and everyone was dancing during the show, also saying a lot for Belgium.
The opening act kinda sucked, I forgot his name but it was only one guy a an acoustic guitar, which I'm a fan of normally but he didn't shut up about President Bush. Ok, I don't like him that much, but really there are more things to sing about other than how much you hate him. So after about 45 minutes of crappy political music, he finally went off. I wasn't too disappointed.
Then Dave came on.
I almost had a stroke I was so excited.
The first song was Don't Drink the Water and I was just grinning from ear to ear dancing. They played for 2 and a half hours. During the middle of some of their songs they would break out into the solos and I was amazed at their skills, especially the fiddler, that guy is sick. And when Dave did his solos, they were so cool. You'd see him just testing the waters on whatever he was gonna do, then he'd scrunch his eyebrows and get even closer to his guitar and then it was perfection. When he played Crash I don't think my life could have gotten any better than how it was at that moment. After they went off I'm pretty positive I lost much hearing from the roar of the crowd calling them back. They played a 3 song encore, and that was that.
After the show we went to go stay at a friends house but because all public transportation stops at midnight, we had to walk. But it wasn't that bad, it wasn"t raining and we loved the company we were in. We didn't get to his house until about 2 but it was so worth it.
To anyone that has the chance to see him, DO IT!
Bisous,
Chelsea
New hosts...
So some things about my new host family, they're pretty dang cool. I think as far as host families go, my heart will always be with the Denis, but the Romains are a pretty close second. I lvoe this family cuz they laugh a lot. Not that my other familes didn't, they just seem to laugh at things I would laugh at anway. Like when we were watching the French presidential elections there were a bunch of motorcycles following the cars of the two canidates and one of them fell over while filming and my host mom almost had a fit. It makes me feel a little more at home cuz it's something I would laugh at with my family.
The food isn't amazing but that and the fact it takes me so long to get to Brussels are pretty much my only complaints. My host mom calls my host dad "mon amour" when she's happy with him and "chef" when she's upset, I think it's pretty funny. Whenever the kids here the word "chef" we all know to leave the room. I get along realy well with my host brother Julian, he went to the US on exchange too so we have a lot to talk about. My host dad has some really weird food specialties, I think I've mentioned the steak and onions and bread for breakfast thing, he has another one for dessert. It's a banana that I think is stuck in the oven, I'm not sure, (it's hot and soft, I assume it was in the oven) then he cuts it open, pours some alcohol in it and lights it on fire. Then we eat! Kinda weird. Just one more thing I don't like, forgot to mention that they watch TV while eating dinner. That bothers me a little cuz I feel like the best time to talk and get to know each other are at meals, but whatever. I'll work at it anyway.
The house isn't packed with Diet Coke or amazing DVDs but I think I'll live. I've visited the Denis twice already, I really miss them, I hope they'll visit me in Utah. I think that's it for now, gotta shower.
Bisous,
Chelsea
new address
In case anyone was wondering...
Clos du Verger, 4
1310 Bierges, Belgium
And that's about it.
Bisous,
Chelsea
