The beginning of the end

It's the beginning of the end so to speak. Yes folks, it's the start of my last semester at college. As for what I want to do next year, I have no idea, any ideas are always welcome. I will most likely take the year off, and then head to grad school for my Masters in French, and possibly teaching French as a foreign language, we shall see. I have a light yet busy semester. I am only taking 13 credits, Perspectives on Global Issues, The Holocaust, Christian MOrality of the Vietnam War, Pilates, my thesis for International Studies, and an Independant Study on Colonization and de colonization in former French Africa. Our men's basketball team continues to do well (15-4). That's all for now.

Senior Year

It is hard to believe that Senior year is already upon me. I'm settled in to my on campus apartemnt, and I have two great roommates. As far as classes go, I have 17 credits. I'm taking Tyranny to Democracy in the 21st Century, Biology of Disease, Politics in Western Europe, Survey of French Literature, Philosophy of C.S. Lewis, and Yoga. I am also working one day a week for Gonzaga Law School's Telfund. For the most part my summer was good, it was way too short though. I volunteered at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, as well as cashiered at Staples. That's all for now.

8 days

I can't believe that I am down to my final 8 days in paris. I have been here for 281 days (40 weeks and 1 day), and now I am down to 8. How time flies. These past couple of weeks have been busy, with finals. I also got to spend last weekend in Corisca with my friend Clare. Despite the fact that my luggage didn't get to me until the very last day, it was a great and relaxing weekend. We spent the first night in Bastia, the next 2 days in Corte, and our last day in Bastia. We got to see some museums, eat good food, and just relax. I have so much to do in my 8 remaining days in Paris, souvenir shopping, eating pasteries, doing some shopping, going to stores I have always wanted to go to, and last but not least, enjoying Paris. I have to enjoy my last few days of freedom, before I go home and start my boring job as a cashier at Staples. Well that is all for now. I'll post when I get back to the good old USA, as well as put up some pictures from Corsica.

Spring Break in Italy and Spain!!!

Wow!!! It has been ages since I updated. I had a two week long Spring Break which I spent in Florence and Rome, Italy, and Madrid and Granada, Spain. My break started out with an overnight train to Florence, arriving there on Easter Sunday. I spent Easter Sunday with some of my Gonzaga In Florence friends. Easter celebrations included an exploding cart, complete with fireworks, in front of the Duomo, much cooler than the Easter bunny. After that, I just hung out with friends. In my four days in Florence, I did a lot. I went to the Accedemia and saw Michaelangelo's David, the Uffizi and saw Bottecelli's Birth of Venus, the Duomo, and much more. I also got to see tons of my friends. I even ran into one of my friends from high school, Stacy Jordan. It was great to see her and catch up after 3 1/2 years. After my wonderful time in Florence I took the train to Rome, another historical city. In Rome I saw the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, the St. Ignatius of Loyola Church (founder of the Jesuits), the Colloseum, the Roman Forum, Palatine, and last but certainly not least, the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and the POPE!!!! I was very fortunate to see the Pope celebrate mass in honor of his 80th birthday. At the end, I was about 10 feet away from him when he drove by in his Pope-mobile. It was so AWESOME!!!! After Rome, I took a plane to Madrid, where I spent a day and a half. I saw the Prado Museum and the Reigna Sophia, home to Picasso's Guernica. I also saw the Cathedral and the Royal Palace (I didn't go in). After Madrid I took a 5 hour bus ride to Granada to visit my friend Tierney. We went and saw the Alhambra, an old Moorish fortress/palace that was built in the 13th-15th Centuries. If you want to know more click on the link. http://www.alhambra.org/eng/index.asp?secc=/inicio. I also went to the Cathedral, and the Royal Chapel where I saw Ferdinand and Isabella (same ones that Christopher Columbus asked permission from to go to the New World). We also had the opportunity to see a flamenco show. While it wasn't a traditional one, it was still cool. I then took the same bus back to Madrid, and then an overnight train back to Paris. Now I'm back in school, and enjoying Paris in the Springtime.


The Colloseum in Rome



The Pope!!!



Me in front of the Alhambra!!!

Mary and Meghan conquer Germany and Belguim

On Tuesday, Mom and I took the 8:55 train from Gare to Nord to Cologne, Germany to visit our friend Ursula and her husband Hans in Rheinbach. It was so awesome. We got the opportunity to see the Cologne Cathedral. It's one of the largest, if not the largest Cathedral's in the world. After that we spent the next two days (Wednesday and Thursday) exploring the area around Rheinback. We saw lots of castles, did lots of walking, and saw lots of cute little fairy tale towns, not to mention tons of half-timbered houses. After Germany we went to Belgium and the little town of Brugge. We spent Friday afternoon, all of Saturday, and part of Sunday there. It was really cute. We went to the Chocolate Museum, the Diamond Museum, and even a Brewery tour. It was really fun getting a chance to play tourist, and just spend some good quality mommy and daughter time.

The Cathedral in Cologne

Cool Castle in Cochem Germany

Diamonds at the Diamond Museum in Brugge

Mom and Dad come to visit...

Holy Cow!!! It has been ages since I've posted anything on here. The rest of my January was filled with school and final exams. I ended up getting all A's, so I'm pretty happy about that. February was a month full of travel. Before I left France for England, we found a place to watch the Super Bowl, it started at Midnight, but it was still a ton of fun. I left for London on Feb. 5th, and stayed until the 9th. I had so much fun. I did the bus tour, saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, saw lots of museums, saw the musical Wicked, saw Shakespeare's Globe Theater, the Tower of London, and a lot more. I even got a chance to see one of my good friends from high school Marina, who is studying there. After that, I headed out to Oxford University for the weekend to see my friend Nana from Camp Kennolyn. We hadn't seen eachother in like 10 years so it was really good to catch up. We did all of the touristy stuff, walked around, had tea, and just hung out. I even got to see where part of the Harry Potter films are filmed. Remeber the dining hall at Hogwarts? Well, that is at Oxford in Christ Church College. After that, I headed back to London to collect my mom and dad. We had lots of fun. We went to Westminster Abbey, the National Gallery, and just had a fun time walking around. We got really good seats (4th row) for the Queen musical We Will Rock You for Valentine's Day. It was so much fun. My mom and I also went on the London Eye, which was really cool. After London, we headed over to France. We stayed at a really cute little hotel over by the Opera building. The first night we went to my favorite bar The Moose (it's Canadian, and they speak English). We got to hang out, watch some sports, and drink beer. The next day, Friday, we did laundry at my place, then walked Rue de Rivoli, had hot chocolate at Angelina's (it's literally melted chocolate), went to the Louvre, and then ate dinner at a nearby cafe. Saturday, Mom headed off to the Rodin Museum, and Dad and I went to the Musee d'Invalides and the Musee d'Armee. Then we went up to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur, and we also saw the Moulin Rouge. We had a really good Italian style dinner. Sunday we got up early and climbed up the bell towers of Notre Dame before Mass. We went to mass at 11:30, and it was awesome. After that, we had lunch at a little Fondue place in the Latin quarter, and then went souvenir shopping. Then we went on a boat cruise down the Seine and attempted to go up the Eiffel Tower, but the lines were just way to long. For dinner we found this American type restaurant, it was pretty good. Monday we had brunch at the Breakfast in America diner out by the Sorbonne. Then we went to the Pantheon where we saw Pierre and Marie Curie, Louis Braille, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, and lots of other famous people (all dead of course). Then we went and walked by the Sorbonne, and then down past the Luxembourg Gardens to my school, the Instituit Catholique. After that we went and saw the Church of St. Sulpice. Then we went back to my place and did laundry. After that, we went out to dinner and my friend Sarah came with us, it was tons of fun. Then we went back to the hotel, and put Dad into a cab for the aiport hotel.

Happy 2007

Holy Cow!!! It has been forever since I have updated. I have been just a tad busy. Christmas here in Paris was absolutely amazing. There were lots of lights and decorations everywhere. I went to Christmas Eve Mass at Notre Dame and it was amazing. There were somewhere between 3,000-4,000 people, and this was for the family mass at 6 pm. The priest even invited all of the kids up to the altar for the Our Father. It was really cool. On Christmas Day, I had a 5 course dinner that lasted over 6 hours with my friend Tim and his family. His family was visiting from San Francisco, and they had rented an apartment. It was really cool and fun. We had cocktails, then gnocchi, then duck a l'orange, then salad, then a cheese plate, and finally a chocolate yule log cake for dessert. Each course was paired with a different wine. It was absolutely amazing. Then, I just enjoyed the holiday season by reading my new books and watching DVD's until Thursday when my friend Sarah and her friend Mary came back from Rome. On friday, two of Mary and Sarah's friends came in from the states. I hung out with them, we did lots of fun sightseeing and touristy stuff. We even celebrated New Year's at the Eiffel Tower. It was a once in a lifetime experience and so much fun. There were tons of people despite the possible forcast of rain. Sarah's friends were here for the rest of the week so I helped Sarah be the tour guide and we saw the essential things one must see in Paris. I am already into my second week back at school, but the semester is nearly over. I have the whole month of February off (the 1-25th). I will be in England the 5-15th, meeting my parent's on the 13th. We will then go to Paris until the 2oth, when Dad will leave for home, and Mom and I will continue on to visit friends in Germany, and then to Brussells and Bruges. I will update more later.

The Christmas Tree in Galleries Lafayette


Me and Sarah on New Years in front of the Eiffel Tower

Munchen, Germany

Last weekend, I packed my bag, grabed my passport, and headed on the RER out to Charles De Gaulle Airport to begin my adventure to Munich. Of course, I didn't want to be pressed for time, so I made it to the aiport with more than enough time to spare. I went in the little gift shop, and bought my self the book "The Devil Wears Prada" (in English of course). I then sat in the terminal waiting for my gate to be announced. The flight was delayed because of weather, fog I think, they didn't really say. So after having to wait around for an extra hour, we finally left, putting me into Germany later than expected. My friend Rena met me at the airport and we took the train to her house. As soon as I arrived in Munich, I noticed all of the Christmas decorations. The next day, Friday, we got up early, and went downtown and took a city bus tour. It was really nice to see a lot of the city without having to walk. After the bus tour, we grabbed a bite to eat, and then headed out to the Olympic Park. It was built for the 1972 olympics. There is a huge tower (much like the Space Needle for those of you familiar with Seattle). It was kind of overcast, but we still got a pretty good view. On a clear day you can see all the way to Austria (it's only 1.5 hours away). After the tower, we discovered a small aquarium called Sea Life. Seeing as we are both guides, we thought we would check it out. The aquarium displayed the Isar River (the main one going through Munich) starting at its source and ending in the Black Sea. It was really cool. After that, we headed back downtown, to be at the official opening of the Christmas Markets. We only stayed for a little while, as we would be going back the next day. Saturday, we slept in, and then went to lunch with Rena's family to celebrate her dad's birthday. It was lots of fun, and her nieces and nephews spoke english too. Her sister in law translates from English to German for the news, so she was really helpful too. After lunch, we went downtown, we went up the tower of a church and since the day was clearer I got some more pictures of the city. After that, we hit up the Christmas Markets. Never in my whole 21 years have I seen so much Christmas it was amazing. We went to a couple of Christmas Markets downtown, and then went to the one that is where they hold Oktoberfest. This market is more modern, and has less Christmassy stuff, but still has suff to sell. While we were there, I got a ring, a Munich snowglobe, and a cool star lamp with dolphins, that you just put over a bare bulb. After that we went home, and I got ready to head back to Paris the next day. Sunday we slept in, and Rena's mom made a special lunch complete with Rabbit and Spaetzle. It was really good. Then Rena and her dad drove me to the airport. I had plenty of time, so I picked up a few gifts in the Duty Free shop. My flight was delayed going back to Paris, because it was delayed from wherever it was coming from, I think London. All in all it was a really fun time.













The Christmas Market at Marienplaz.




















Totally awesome Christmas Tree!!!
















Me at the top of the Olympic Tower.

Danielle's Visit, and Thanksgiving Paris Style

WOW!!! It's been ages since I've postedI've done lots of stuff. My friend Danielle from Gonzaga in Florence (GIF) came to visit me the week before Thanksgiving. We had so much fun. We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night, it was really beautiful to see the city all lut up. We also walked the Champs Elysees, hung out in the Latin Quarter, met up with some other GIF people who happenend to be in town for the weekend, and went to the Musee D'Orsay and then had Greek food for dinner. We went to the Picasso Museum, and Louvre, as well as Notre Dame. I would say we hit all of the highlights. It was just really nice to see a friend from GU, and get caught up. We also drank Starbucks, man was it tasty. After that, we had Thanksgiving. It would be an understatement, if I didn't say that we went all out, and by all out, I mean OVER THE TOP!!!We had roughly 50 people, two turkeys, 5 pies, tons of mashed potatoes (I'm not kidding), 3 different kinds of yams, two kinds of stuffing, and all of the other fixings. It was amazing. We started all of the prep the night before, and continued to cook all day long on Thanksgiving day. Since we only have a toaster oven, the bakery up the street cooked the turkey's, pies, and some of the other stuff too. It was really fun, because each person brought recipes from their own families, so it made it really special. Next stop...Munich,
Germany.












Me and Danielle in front of the Eiffel Tower.



















Eiffel Tower sparkling at night.





















Tim carving the turkey, while Sanjay oversees.