I know I suck :p

Okay so yes I am still behind, but I filled in the rest of German (except for a bit of Wednesday) and You've got the first part of the Ireland trip. I'm sorry I'm so behind, I've just been so short of time right now. Enjoy the new bits and I'll try to get more up soon. Thanks for still reading.

(Sunday)

I woke up early and started to get ready (I thought I had woken up late, but my French phone was an hour off). I went to the kitchen to get breakfast but Chris and Jude (sort for Judith) weren’t there. So I casually got ready, showered, ate breakfast and such. Then Chris and Jude showed up and we finished getting ready, hoped in the car and headed for the coast.

We got a bit lost and confused but it didn’t take us too long to find our way. We had a nice long drive through the country. Jude was asleep for almost all of it, I fell asleep for a bit in the middle (luckily Chris stayed awake). When we got there we paid for parking (which Chris and Jude didn’t expect and weren’t too happy about). Then we got out and headed for the coast. The place we went is called the {Giant something?????} and it was BEAUTIFUL!!! Absolutely amazing and gorgeous. You walk along the coast and see all the different natural features like hexagon rocks, the organ (it looks like and organ in the side of the cliff), and the red rocks (which are so bright red, especially compared to the bright blue of the ocean and green of the grass. It was really just stunning. We talked the whole way of course and took pictures. Chris discovered his inner mountain goat on the rocks and Jude and I had the pleasure of trying to follow him, it was great fun. Jude also told me the history of the cliffs. She informed me how some people will tell you crap about volcanoes and rock formations, but that’s not what really happened. What really happened was that the Irish Giant wanted to fight the Scottish Giant so he went over the ridge that connected them. He saw the Scottish giant, and he was huge, so he ran back to Ireland.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Ireland Here I Come... Eventually (Saturday)

Woke up at 5am…far too early to be moving (stupid early flight). I got up, showered, and put the last things in my bags. Then at 6am I said goodbye to Sylvia’s apartment and we headed to the train station. We caught one train, rode it for a bit, then waited and caught another train. Then we finally got to the airport. It was different set up than US airports. It was more spread out and most of the shops and restaurants are before you go through the gates. We found the Lufthansa check in desk and I got my tickets and checked my suitcase. Then Sylvia and I wandered around and found somewhere to eat breakfast (we were both super hungry by this point). We stopped at a bakery and got little Brochen sandwiches. They were pretty good. We talked about flying and I told her how in the US I don’t usually check bags anymore I just take 2 carryons. She was surprised by this because she said usually they only allow one. This is when I turned to look at my 2 carryon bags. I asked her if it would be okay, she said yes, but just to be sure I better head to my gate and make sure I have time in case I run into trouble.

So Sylvia and I said goodbye. It was really sad, I’m gonna miss her. It was so good to see her and hang out with her again, we decided we have to try to run into each other again in a few years. I’ve had so much fun with her this week it’s sad to think I may not see her for another 2 years or more. Still we had a great time together and we will stay in touch. Just a bit sad to say goodbye.

I made it through security just fine. I got to my gate and waited a bit till we boarded the plane. I had a nice window seat in a row all by myself. It was very chill. I fell asleep for the first half of the flight. I woke up for cheese sandwiches and orange juice courtesy of Lufthansa. Then I enjoyed the view of the ocean and a bit of music. My ear started hurting really bad but eventually it got better. Other than that I filled out this card for staying in/ coming to the UK. I left 2 spots blank cause I wasn’t sure what to put.

In a bit we landed and I got off the plane. I walked and walked forever till I had to go through a passport check thing and give the card I filled out. The I figured out the one blank, but the other was the address of where I was staying. I didn’t have Chris’ address, or the address’ of the hotels we were staying because I didn’t think I needed them. I hadn’t needed any of the other addresses. The lady started asking me all these questions I didn’t know the exact answers too, like how much money I had here. It was weird and she just kept angrily asking me questions. Then she let me go through and snobbily told me to be more prepared next time (pardon my language, but what a bitch). So now that I felt like a total dumb ass I had to go to the next station where apparently they took my picture (they didn’t tell me that at the time). Then I made my way to the Terminals. I didn’t know which one was right, so I asked and they took my water bottle (jerks). Then I went through security (again!). Then I made my way to the gate. I had to stop at another counter and get my ticket checked and the man ( the first nice person I’ve had contact with in this airport) showed me the picture they took at the early station. Since I didn’t know it was a photo I didn’t smile, and was pissed because of the mean lady (aka I looked horrible). The man laughed and said it looked nice (I couldn’t help but laugh, although I wish I had known and smiled).

Finally I got to gate 8 only to find there are like 7 different gate 8s (8a, 8b, etc.) and the ticket doesn’t specify. I figured I had 3 hours to waste so I would worry about it later. I found a wifi station and plugged in my computer, but the power didn’t work. So I found another station (this one worked). I got on my laptop only to discover the wifi is like $15. No thanks, I can wait. Basically so far, it just hasn’t been my day.

So I hung out in the airport for hours. I bought a smoothie and some chips. Then I looked at the time and realized my plane should have started boarding by then. I went up to a woman who worked in the airport to ask, she informed me I was an hour off…right time zone change :p. So I sat in the airport for another hour till they announced they were delaying the flight a half hour. GREAT! Now not only do I have to spend another half hour in Heathrow (4 and a half hours total at this point), but I have to find a way to tell Chris. I went to find a phone to call mom and see if she could try to contact him, but instead I found a computer set up. You could pay a few pounds for 20 minutes of internet, Perfect!!! I paid, got online, Facebook messaged Chris. He got it so no worries. Then I emailed my folks and got on the plane. Slept through the plane ride then landed got my bags and headed out.

I found Chris easily (thank goodness)! His sister was with him so I met her. Then we scurried to the car so we didn’t have to pay for parking. Then Chris and his sister gave me a driving tour of Belfast. It was brilliant!!! They showed me the big cranes and ship building area, which is where they build Titanic (yet there is no Titanic museum in Northern Ireland). I saw their opera house, arena, old buildings, etc. It was great especially because Chris and his sister had fun and interesting stories to go along with the tour. They informed me how many old buildings were being converted to offices or apartments, and many buildings were being built for offices and apartments, and if you didn’t know what a bilding was it was probably offices or apartments (they were so funny). They showed me the clock tower which according to the story is tilting because all the hookers lean against it (not because of the marshy land, lol). Chris also showed me the biggest RED brick building in Europe (i don’t know what other color the brick might be but still it was funny).

TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!

Last Day In Germany (Friday)

Sylvia got up really early to go to work at the old lady’s house again. I planned on waking up at the same time and getting all my packing done, but my bed was just too comfortable to get out of. So I slept in an extra hour and a half, it was very nice. Finally I dragged myself out of bed and started packing. I got a lot done and was weighing the suitcase as I went to make sure I didn’t go over the weight and have to pay. I also called Gusy, who was still awake at a ridiculous hour of the morning in Montana. But it was so good to talk with him.

Sylvia got back around noon and a bit later we headed to the center of Cologne. We got out of the station and walked in the direction of the chocolate museum. There was a market going on along the river bank (it was really cute). I got potatoes fritters (potatoes pancakes) they came with Apple sauce which I thought was weird, but apparently that’s how they are traditionally eaten. They were pretty good. We also tried some cheese samples at an Austrian cheese stand. The man who worked there was very enthusiastic about the cheese. He started talking to Sylvia and kept talking and talking ( I could tell Sylvia didn’t want to talk but was trying to be polite about it). On the bright side he gave us free mini Austrian cow bells ( I couldn’t help giggling when he handed me a cowbell with fringe and all, its pretty silly). We eventually escaped and continued on our way.

We made it to our intended destination (a bratwurst stand). I had asked Sylvia if we could get bratwursts for lunch since it was my last day in Germany and I hadn’t had one. We went to the stand and I got a Currywurst with a Brochen (a different kind of bratwurst with curry sauce and spice on it). Apparently they are very popular in Germany, so I tried one. Super yummy! Then Sylvia had the brilliant idea of getting dessert. We were just across the bridge from the chocolate museum which had a little café that they serve special cakes in. So we went in the museum café and had cake, mine was raspberry and Sylvia’s was chocolate. It was pretty tasty. We chatted and enjoyed our dessert for a while, then we headed back to the train station.

Unfortunately we missed the train Sylvia was hoping to catch, but there was another in like 20 minutes. So we sat on the steps in front of the Dome and chilled in the slight rain. It was nice. Then I walked Sylvia to her platform and came back to the Dome steps. I sat on the steps reading my book for a bit. I thought I might meet up with another German I met at the Wednesday night party and hang out for a bit, but I never heard from him. So I chilled for a bit then decided since I was at the Dome I was going to climb it. I went in and paid the 1 euro cost to climb the 358 (or something close to that) steps up to the top. It wasn’t easy, lots of stairs. Luckily you get a break if you stop to look at the bells. They also tease you because you finish one set of stairs go down a hall, and then there are more stairs. I made it to the top, and the view was absolutely beautiful and made me realize how big Cologne really is. I took some pictures and enjoyed the cool air for a bit before I headed back down. There was only one stair case for going up and coming down so everyone had to squezze past each other. It was a bit annoying and not the best design plan, but oh well. I DID IT!!!

Sylvia had told me about an area I could go shopping, but I didn’t really have space in my suitcase, so I decided not to go shopping. As Sylvia was getting on the train she asked me if I could bake a cake for the going away party we were going to that night. I said sure. I figured I could help Sylvia out considering all she did for me. Besides baking is easy…or so I thought. I got to the grocery store and found the cake mixes. Then I stood there for about 10-20 minutes wondering what any of them said. I was thinking of doing cupcakes but the only ones they had were chocolate and pink princess. So I looked at the cakes I had no idea what any of them were, but 2 looked chocolaty and one looked like lemon so I chose the other one thinking it looked like vanilla. I bought the cake mix and caught the bus back to the apartment (after all those stairs I didn’t really feel like walking).

I got back to the apartment, sat at my computer with the cake mix and began to translate what it was, what I needed and the directions. This ended up being a long and annoying process. Then I went to the kitchen to find everything I needed. This also ended up being an incredible annoying process because I didn’t know where anything was and couldn’t ask anyone. At one point during all this I called Sylvia and left her a message saying “help me!”. Nels called to get a hold of Sylvia which worked for me because a bit later I called him back and asked him for help since there was no measuring cup to be found anywhere in that kitchen, and since its in the metric system I don’t know the amounts well enough to guess it. Nels helped and eventually I found everything I needed and made the cake. I also watched Victor Victoria while I worked (it was my baking movie). After only four hours I had a broken, but frosted walnut cake. I will never bake in a foreign language I don’t know and a foreign kitchen ever again :p. I called mom and told her about my cake adventure and watching Victor Victoria.

I was frustrated but felt accomplished and Sylvia was very proud, so it all turned out okay. She came home and was very impressed because she realized she had given me a very hard task once the train went away. A bit later Nels arrived. I ate a snack cause I was hungry and we weren’t eating till the party. Then I called Gusy and talked to him for a bit while I was waiting for Sylvia and Nels, who were waiting for me (minor misunderstanding).

Anyway eventually we left for the party. We walked to Mario’s house (Mario is leaving to teach football [soccer] in Argentina for about a year I think, so it was his going away party) and went in and joined the party. There were a lot people from Sylvia’s theater group there that I met and talked to. The two most memorable were a girl who loved English and was drunk (she spoke English more when she was drunk apparently, she only told me so like 4 times). She had a strong British accent when she spoke English and talked about how she passionately wanted to move to Britain. We talked about theater and following your passions/ heart. She was nice and she said she appreciated talking to me (although who knows if she’ll remember it). The other memorable character from Sylvia’s theater group was a guy who frankly followed me around quite a bit. He spoke English but his enunciation was horrible so often I didn’t understand what he said. Still I talked to him and tried to seem polite. He is 18 and I think he was very interested in me, and I was not at all interested in him. It was kind of funny though, and a little bit weird.

When we got there Mario got us all a beer, and I drank mine (it was okay, not bad). The only problem was I didn’t really want to drink beer, I wanted to eat food. Sylvia had told me not to eat because there would be food at the party, so by the time we got there I was hungry, but I didn’t see any food. I asked Sylvia but she didn’t know and I told her not to worry about it, but a bit later in the night I had to ask again. This time Sylvia asked and I was pointed to the food (yay!). I felt better after that.

Francheska and Life were also at the party so we hung out with them. There was also a t-shirt that everyone was signing for Mario. I signed it too, I wrote, “Bye! <3 Amber (American)”. I think he will find it funny and this way he’ll realize who it was that signed it (aka that American girl Sylvia brought that one time). When it got late I started to get tired, and since I knew I had to be up at 5am the nest morning I wanted to get at least a few hours of sleep. I mentioned this to Sylvia and she said we would leave soon. About an hour, and two more “we’ll leave in just a few minutes”, and we actually left. (I know I shouldn’t complain because I am guilty of this too, but usually I’m not affecting the less than three hours of sleep someone is hoping to get) We said goodbyes and headed to Life’s house and he gave us a ride back to Sylvia’s apartment. Then Sylvia, Nels and I got ready for bed. I said goodbye to Nels since he wasn’t going to wake up before I left in the morning. Then Sylvia and I went to bed to enjoy our 2 hours of sleep.

Roman Museum (Thursday)

Sylvia said she would wake me up today, but apparently she forgot about that. So once I woke up Sylvia and Nels were pretty much done eating. Nels ran to get more bread, and then I ate lunch. We hung out for a while then Sylvia went to work. I decided since I was running out of time in Germany I decided if I wanted to go to the Roman museum it had to be today. I was all ready to go and Nels was just sitting on the couch. I asked him if he wanted to go, but he said he was going to stay and read the newspaper for a while. I felt a bit weird just leaving him there, but I’m sure Sylvia has done it before so I grabbed the spare keys and headed out.

I knew my way to the city center pretty well by this point so I had no trouble taking the train there. I got off and made my way to the Roman museum. I paid to get in and wandered about. I saw a lot of really old artifacts from the Romans and a lot of archeological stuff like fossils. It was pretty cool. I think the best was the Roman stuff like the statues, tiles, jewelry and stuff like that. It was very interesting. After the museum I went into the Dome gift shop and got a little souvenir (I hadn’t really bought anything for me that was German and cool). So after that I just headed back to the train station. I got off the train and stopped in Sylvia’s apartment.

Then I left and hoped on a bus. I got off and walked to Sylvia’s work. I had mentioned maybe visiting, but I thought just showing up would be a fun surprise. I just sat down at one of the café tables. After a bit Sylvia came up and said hi. She was busy working so she couldn’t sit down and talk. I ordered another spaghetti ice cream with a bunch of fruit on it. It was very tasty, not as good as the first one but still very good. I sat and read my book for a bit. Then I said goodbye to Sylvia and headed for the bus station. I had to wait a bit but I caught the next bus and went back to the apartment. I just hung out, made phone calls and went online for a bit.

Then Sylvia got back. She got out early this time and had stopped at the grocery store. She made dinner. Then we ate (it was very good, chicken with bacon wrapped around it and veggie rice). Then we decided to watch a movie. We were a bit indecisive, but eventually we ended up with Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunce (who was in the last movie I watched, so my movie themes went: 2 with Scarlet Johansen, the second had tennis in it, so then 2 tennis movies, the second had Kirsten Dunce, so then 2 Kirsten Dunce. It wasn’t intentional, but kinda funny). It was pretty good, the pace of it was a bit odd, but the movie was beautiful and done well. They focused on some weird moments, but overall I liked it. By then it was pretty late so we headed to bed.

Korean TV/ Attack Worm (Wednesday August 11)

Sylvia and I woke up early and got ready. We had trouble deciding what to wear because we needed to look nice today. We were going to go to a chateau (kind of like Versailles but smaller) that is south of Cologne but easy to get to by train. We got all dressed up, did our makeup and such because we were going to be on TV (well maybe). You see we were going to meet Sylvia’s friend who is a model in Korea, but she was in Germany to film for a Korean TV show. The show was on a fashion network that was doing a show on models showing different cities and what was fashionable there and stuff like that. She had lived in Cologne before she moved to Korea so she spoke fluent German, and so they sent her there. So since we were going to be hanging out with her (and they were filming everything she did while in Germany) we knew we would be filmed. We know that they may not use the footage that we were in, but it was still cool to think that we would be on Korea TV (although I wish I looked better for it, but oh well what can you do).

So we took the train to meet them in the main train station. They were late but eventually we found them. There were three of them, Sylvia’s friend, a camera girl, and a photography/ sound girl. They tech girls were very nice and Sylvia’s friend was really cool. WE all got on the train and headed for the chateau. When we got there it was raining so we headed straight into the building for the tour. They told them they couldn’t film in the building only in the gardens. So the camera girl sat out and the rest of us went on the tour (the photography girl and I had to get electronic audio tours so we could hear the tour in English instead of German). The tour was really cool and very informative. The chateau was absolutely beautiful, every inch was decorated with paintings statues and fine detail. The audio thing also gave a lot of information about the different rooms (such as ballroom, bedrooms, greeting rooms, bathing rooms, etc.), how they were used, explained the decoration and gave some extra random historical info (like that they had tick traps that were tubes with holes in them that had wool with sheep's blood on it and adhesive inside. They would roll the tubes in their hair or wigs to get rid of the tics, but no one would know). It was really cool (even though our tour was completely different than the spoken one we all really enjoyed it.

After the tour we went out toward the gardens. We had a little snack on our way and then got ready for filming. They began filming and Sylvia’s friend spoke in Korean giving introductions of where she was and what she was doing there. Then she introduced us and they talked about Sylvia’s outfit (cause she’s so fashionable). Sylvia joked she would become famous in Korea now. We walked, talked and hung out with them filming everything we did as we went. It was kinda weird but cool (I felt a bit third wheel since Sylvia and her friend are best friends and were so tight and had all this stuff to talk about, and people to talk about that I knew nothing about). Overall it was an interesting experience, plus now I can say I was filmed for Korean TV. They filmed a bit more of Sylvia’s friend talking about the building and stuff in Korean and took some pictures.

Once the filming was done we all headed for the train station. We all headed back to the city. Then we parted ways. Sylvia was sad to see her friend go, but I think she was really just happy to see her. So after she left Sylvia and I went to go have lunch somewhere that we could get traditional German food. We found a place that looked very traditional and had a cool atmosphere (and that was still serving lunch) so we went in there.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Failed Vintage Shopping (Tuesday August 10)

Nels was over so they slept in. I woke up a bit before they did and went on the computer for a bit. Then they got up and we all had lunch together. We all chilled for a bit and enjoyed the afternoon. Then Sylvia had to go to work so we said goodbye to her and she left. Nels and I got ready and caught the train into town.

Nels was going to take me to a vintage store that I had seen a few nights before. We got off the train and started walking toward the shop. Nels mentioned another cool shop, so we took a detour to a shop on a side street. I went in and checked it out. The stuff was really cool, but then I looked at the price tag and realized that it was also really expensive. So I left and didn’t buy anything there. We headed to the vintage store and went in to look around. I soon realized that almost all of it was American stuff and thus I didn’t want anything from there. Nels did find some shorts though (and asked if I could loan him the 10 euros to buy them). So I did and he did. Then we headed toward the next train station (though we had to go back after a block or so when Nels realized he forgot his jacket, but after that we were on our way). WE got back to that area and looked around a bit. Nels said there were other vintage stores nearby so we poked our head into those, and I looked around one a bit, but I didn’t find anything. (Also I didn’t really feel like shopping anymore) So Nels got me back onto the train and I headed back to Sylvia’s.

I got to her apartment and just relaxed a bit. Called some people, went online, etc. Pretty much was a lazy bum. Then Sylvia came back. She chilled for a bit before making dinner. Then we sat down and ate. It was very good of course. After that we curled up on the couch and watch Wimbledon. Sylvia loved the movie and wanted to watch it and I had never seen it so we put it in. It was super romantic and cheesy, a total chic flick (and I loved every minute of it!). I sometimes get in a chic flick mood and I guess I was in one that night because I very much enjoyed the sappy cheesiness. (It was also weird though because the last movie we watched had tennis in it). Anyway we both enjoyed it and felt warm fuzzy afterward. Then we went to bed to get some much needed sleep

Tour of Cologne (Monday August 9)

So this morning I got up super early and Sylvia took me to the doctor. She had to go work for an old lady helping her out with home stuff, so she took me before work. It was way too early but we got up and walked to the doctor’s office. Sylvia talked to the receptionist and said everything was okay and to just wait in the waiting room for a half hour or so and the doctor would see me.

Eventually they called me in. The doctor spoke English very well so we had no trouble. He asked some questions. Then quickly checked some stuff (blood pressure, breathing, ears, etc.). He did all of this very quickly. Then he wrote out a prescription walked me to the front desk and said goodbye. Not saying what I had or what I had to pay. The front desk gave me the prescription and then proceeded to go about their work. I was confused because, ya know, you usually pay for doctors appointments. I stood there for a minute or so looking awkward (I didn’t want to walk out without paying). The receptionist brought over another receptionist that spoke English. I asked her if I could go, and she said yes and goodbye. I was very confused but not gonna argue with a free appointment.

So I headed back to Sylvia’s and stopped at the pharmacy and filled my prescriptions. They weren’t too expensive (especially by American standards). The pharmacist explained when to take them, but not what they were or how to take them (this isn’t a problem if they’re both just simple pills, but that wasn’t the case). I got back and ate some cereal and took the first pill of the antibiotics. Then came the other one which was much too big to be a pill you swallowed. The picture on the box showed it splashing into water, so I thought maybe it was a dissolving pill, but I didn’t want to try till I checked. I used google translate to attempt to translate the directions. Problem was I couldn’t find the directions (I really don’t like not knowing any of the native language). Eventually I just gave up and tried it. I was right and it worked, so I drank the fizzy water and felt accomplished.

When Sylvia got home we ate some lunch (same as the last 2 days). Then we headed into the center of the city. Sylvia gave me a grand tour! She showed me the Dome (very famous cathedral), museums nearby (the one I went to and another I might go to that is on the Roman history of the city), a cool German book store, where they are building a new museum, the hole (where a building collapsed and created this massive hole), her old high school, a famous perfume shop, and other cool stuff. We had a grand time walking around Cologne and seeing the city. It was a bit weird at times for Sylvia though because so much has changed/ is changing (like her old high school being torn down and her old train station no longer being there). At the end of the tour Sylvia and I stopped for groceries, but couldn't find everything at one place. So we bought some stuff there then went next door, they didn't have some stuff either. So we didn't buy anything there we just left and went to another grocery store only a bit out of the way from her house (since the one we went to last time was closed by this point). We got what we needed and headed back.

Sylvia made dinner and we ate. It was very tasty and nice. Nels was supposed to join us for dinner, but he was late. He ate when he arrived and then we started talking about music. Sylvia realized that there was this one German artist I didn't know (of course I don't know many German artists so I wasn't surprised). She wanted to show me the video, so I grabbed my laptop and headed into the kitchen so we could watch it. The video was from a TV show that is a European song writing competition. SO we watched the one video then continued to watch others (other countries videos, some good some painful, but all fun to watch). Then I started showing them videos of comedians. I introduced them to Flight of the Concords and Eddie Izzard. We laughed and laughed, it was a great time. Sylvia and I were having a blast anyway, Nels I think got lost at times but either way it was super fun. Then we all got sleepy and went to bed.

I know I suck, but here's the deal.

Okay, so I've got a ton typed on my laptop, so now all I need is wifi which is apparently far to difficult to come across here. So I am sort of caught up. There will be a few holes to be tilled in later, but at least you'll get the latest as soon as I can get wifi. Sorry for the delay again. I'm sure pretty much everyone has stopped reading this by now, but I will get it done!!!

Just for a quick catch up:
I am in Belfast right now which is in Northern Ireland. This afternoon I leave for Dublin which is in Southern Ireland (Northern and Southern Ireland are different countries in case you didn't know, personally I think its just weird). Chris and I are driving down and staying with his friend tonight. Then tomorrow my parents get in and we will meet up with them and have a fabulous time!!!

Thats the latest with much more to come!

Okay....

So here's the deal I spend 4 and a half hours in the Heathrow airport yesterday, and got almost entirely caught up on my blog. The problem now is that I don't have wifi here in Belfast. Sorry but I refuse to retype all my entries when I could jus copy and paste them on my laptop. So sorry there will be another short delay. Don't give up on me yet. I will try to get them posted today or tomorrow. Sorry! and keep checking! Thanks

Sorry Sorry Sorry

I am sorry for those of you that regularly follow my blog, thank you for doing so. I know I am very behind, but I have a 4 hour layover in Heathrow airport tomorrow so I'm hoping to catch up then. Don't give up on the blog yet!

Roy Lichtenstein and Mild Airplane Panic

Sylvia and I slept in again (me about 12, Sylvia about 1) and after we got up we had lunch of Brötchens and bread topping stuff. After lunch we finished getting ready and we headed to the train station. There I bought a ticket and Sylvia wrote out for me very specific directions on taking the train back to her house.

We got off the train in the center of town and Sylvia walked my to the Museum Ludwig, which is Köln's modern art museum. She made sure I knew my way and showed me the river which was nearby. Then she helped me buy a ticket and left. She had to go to work so I was going to wander the museum myself and take the train back when I was done. It was very simple to get back (just one train and the station was nearby. plus most people speak English so I figured I could handle it). So Sylvia left me and I went into the museum.

I went downstairs where they had an exhibition of an artist named Roy Lichtenstein. What I didn't realize was that I had seen a painting by this artist before. It was in MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) in NYC, and it had been one of my favorite pieces I had seen there. I liked it so much I bought a post card of it and hung it on my wall at school. So once I realized it was the same artist I was very excited. I went through his exhibit (liked alot, but he had some stuff I wasn't too fond of). Then I went through the rest of the museum (it was 3 floors so it took a while). As with most modern art museums some of it was really cool and some of it was really stupid. They had this huge window with a poem on it that I liked. They also had two rooms of just Picasso pieces, that was really cool. I was actually surprised by some of his pieces because I didn't know he did sculpture and I didn't know he did some "normal art" (aka not in the Picasso style at all, more in the traditional style your taught in art class). Other than that it was very random, but cool. I stayed almost till closing. Then I went to the gift shop and bought another two postcards of his art (now I've got a little set :) ).

After the museum I headed to the train station, it was very close by. I looked at the time and realized it was only like 3 minutes till the next train I needed and there was no way I could get my ticket and catch it. So then I had a half hour to wait. So I stopped at the little train station cafe, bought a cola light, pulled out my book and relaxed. I figured I would read for about 15 minutes then go get my ticket and catch the train. So after a bit over 15 minutes I went to the ticket machine and tried to buy a ticket, well at first I couldn't find the right ticket, then it wouldn't take my euro coins. So I waited in line and tried another, then waited in line and tried another and by this time I'd missed my train. I was rather frustrated with the stupid machines.

So I stepped back and spotted a nearby kiosk for Lufthansa airlines (the airline I was planning on using to buy my plane ticket to Ireland). My intended flight had a 4 hour layover, so I thought I would go in and ask them if there was a better option. So I talked to the guy at the counter who informed me there was another flight which meant I would only have a 2 hour layover. I asked him how much, but he said I had to use the Lufthansa phone to call in and find out. So I picked up the phone and talked to the lady on the other end. She informed me the flight with the shorter layover was booked so I'd have to take the 4 hour layover option. Oh well, I thought. I had checked the price online, but thought maybe there was a discount buying it here so I asked how much it was. She responded $650...$650!!!!!!! That's 3 times as much as I saw it for online I said thank you and left immediately!

Now I was in panic mode thinking... [crap I haven't bought my ticket! What if it jumped to that price? It can't have jumped that high in one day!?!? Mom and Dad will kill me if the ticket is $600!!!!] I realized I had to get home and check online immediately hoping I hadn't screwed up. I bought my ticket (I finally found a ticket machine that worked). But I still had like 15mins to wait. I was so nervous I wanted comfort food. Unfortunately/ conveniently (whichever way you want to look at it) there was a McDonalds right next to my platform. So I went in and got some french fries to eat while waiting for the train and trying not to panic. (The funny thing was that the McDonalds french fries here actually taste like their made of potatoes, weird I know. Even stranger is that the fries tasting like potatoes is weird).

I got on the train, made it back to the apartment and immediately jumped online to check the ticket price. The price had jumped a little but was still no where near $600. I was so relieved. After I got the ticket I called mom and talked to her for a bit. Then I saw Gusy was online so I called him and talked to him for a bit. Then I took a shower and waited for Sylvia to return.

Once she did we cooked dinner and hung out. We ate dinner and talked about stuff. Then we decided to watch a movie. We stuck with my unintentional Scarlett Johansen theme and watched Match Point. It was pretty good, but not what I expected. It reminded me of another Woody Allen movie, Crime And Misdemeanors. Match Point was interesting though, it kept me on the edge of my seat. After the movie we headed to bed.

Germany....hmmm

It was Saturday morning so Sylvia said we could sleep in, so I slept in till about 10:30 and Sylvia slept in till about 1:30pm. It was no big deal though, I just got on my computer, talked to people, ate a banana, emailed, watched some Doctor Who and waited for her to wake up.

Once Sylvia was awake she ran to the bakery across the street to get some fresh bread. She came back with these German rolls called Brötchen. We ate them with cheese, meat, tomatoes, and other yummy bread toppings for lunch. Then after lunch we finished getting ready and headed out of the house.

We walked to the mall nearby (the one Nels and I went to yesterday. Yes I got the spelling of her boyfriends name and I was very off, its Nels, never seen that one before). First we went grocery shopping. It was an interesting adventure of shopping for food in a language I don't know at all, but with Sylvia we made it through and got everything we needed. We also stopped at a drug store so I could pick up a few things including tea and cough drops (stupid never ending cough). Then we caught the bus back to the apartment and put everything away.

Soon after that Sylvia had to leave for work. So she said goodbye and headed out. I stayed in and did some computer stuff. I also called my parents and Linds because I now have the ability to call the US for free!!! Sylvia's mom's phone in the apartment has a flat rate international fee since her family is from Poland, so it costs nothing extra for me to call the states!!! Yay!!! I was very excited about being able to call people even if only for a week.

Then I decided to watch a movie. Sylvia is kind of a movie buff and has a rather large collection, many of which I haven't seen. So I chose The Girl With The Pearl Earing. Betsy had told me years ago I had to watch it (because of the whole "little scarlet" thing), so I decided better late than never. I ate a bowl of cereal and watched intently. It was a good movie, but not at all what I expect from looking at the cover. It was a very well done movie, good story, good production, good acting. I liked it, but it wasn't one I really have to see again.

Not too much later Sylvia got back. She wanted to take me to a German club thing so we ate some dinner in the apartment and then headed out to meet her friends. It took us a bit to get where they were and find them, but eventually we did. We all stopped a Kiosk (aka mini everything store) and got a beer. Sylvia suggested one with grapefruit juice in it since she knows I'm not a beer person, but determined to try it while in Germany. So I got the Grapefruit Hefeweizen and it was actually pretty good. I kinda liked it. Then we made our way to this party at the Papierfabrik (which translates to paper factor).

It was like an old factory of warehouse divided up into sort of rooms that were supposed to all be playing different types of music (3 DJs and one live band). But it sounded like they were all playing the same types of music called something like electronic music. There were a ton of people and some of the rooms were really hot and gross. We lost the boys in our group at one point and wandered for a good while trying to find them. In the mean time I discovered 2 things: 1 I didn't know how to dance to the music cause it was so weird, but it also didn't help that 2 apparently beer makes me sleepy. Either that or the combination of the beer and the fact that it was already like 2am made me into a Zombie Amber who was very tired and wanted to go home. Overall, it wasn't like any other club I've been to, but I like the clubs I've been to. I didn't like this place. Too loud, weird, hot, hard to dance to, and just not my thing. Sylvia said it is a very German kind of club party thing, I think I'd pass.

We left the club and headed for the train station. We had to wait a bit, but then we got on, got home and went to bed. I'm still not overwhelmingly impressed with Germany.

Journey to Germany/ Evil Shrubbery

So early in the morning I got up, took a shower, ate breakfast, gathered my things, and we all headed for the train station. I stopped at the little bakery in the station to get a baguette for the train ride (my last French baguette :( ). Then we went to the platform and I said my goodbyes and thank yous to Anne Marie and Christian. They were so sweet and helpful!! I'm glad I had this time to stay with them.

I got on the train and waved goodbye as the train departed. My first train was very short. Then I got off in SWITZERLAND!!!! That's right, Switzerland. I had a one hour lay over at the train station in Switzerland. It was an eventful one hour though. I went to costumer service first to figure out my platform. It took a bit to long, but it was good I checked. Then I bought a tiny bottle of Swiss wine for another time. I bought a Swiss snack and a present for Sethy (brother). Then I headed to my platform to catch the train.

I got on the train and did my best to pass the time. I had about 4 or so hours on the train so I did my best to pass the time. I finished the book I was reading, Sidartha. It was pretty good, I didn't like or agree with all of it, but it had some good moments. After the book I ate the lunch I had brought with me (yummy fresh baguette with cheese). Then I listened to music, and started a new book, Good Omens. Eventually I made it to Koln (or Cologne, depending on which country your in).

I wandered the platform a bit, not sure if I should go downstairs or wait there. After a bit I found SYLVIA!!!! I was very happy to see her. We bought a ticket for me and took the train to her Mom's apartment on the edge of the city. We talked and talked catching up on life. She told me that her Mom and sister were gone so it would be just the two of us in the apartment (which means I get her sisters bed, yay not sleeping on the floor!). She also told me that her boyfriend would be meeting us at the apartment. We had a small issue with the stupid trains (they wouldn't let us get on the right train for some reason, so we had to wait for the next one). Then we got on and made our way to Sylvia's.

On the way to her house I was just walking along with my stuff, minding my own business when a bush with thorns cuts my arm. Like actually cuts my arm, not just scratches. It was bleeding and hurt. Thanks for the kind welcome to Germany you evil German Shrubbery!

At the building was her boyfriend (it sounds like Niece but I'm not sure if that's how you spell it). So I met him and he was very nice. Sylvia had to leave for work (she works at this little ice cream cafe kinda Italian place, its cute). So her boyfriend and I hung out. First we went to the mall to buy a week pass train ticket for me, but that didn't work because it was only Monday to Monday. So we thought I could buy a weekend pass and a week pass, but they had no weekend pass. After much debating and issues with the lady at the counter I ended up buying a week ticket and a day ticket that were very overpriced.

After the train ticket issue was dealt with we went to try to catch part of the Gay Games (yes, you heard correctly, the Gay Games. Apparently Cologne is the second Gay Capitol of the world after San Francisco. I had no idea). We found handball, but that was all. Niece (I'm just gonna write it like this till I get a proper spelling) wasn't into it so we kept looking around, but couldn't find anything. Eventually we found out that all the events were done for the day so we got back on the train.

Our next stop was the beer garden. We went to a stand and each got a beer then went and sat on the grass. Now as you may or may not know, I don't like beer, but I am in Germany so I'm determined to give it a chance. So when I asked Niece for a suggestion he chose a local beer for me to try. It was not tasty, almost gross. But I didn't want to be rude so I drank most of it anyway. Only problem with that is that the beers here are huge! But it was okay, Niece and I talked about alot of stuff. Like living in gay cities and that we both want to be actors. He's trying to get into an acting school for next year so we had alot to talk about. Anyway after that we walked toward town. I stopped at an ATM then we got back on the train.

Niece took me to the gay area of the city and showed me around a bit. I had mentioned the Castro street being the gay street of San Fran but he informed me they didn't have a street as much as an area. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw a store named Castro on one of the streets. They had it all dolled up for the Gay Games festivities, and the best part, free shoes! We were walking down the street and this girl came up to me and asked if I was interested in free flip flops. I said yes so Niece and I both got free flip flops! Score!

After that we got back on the train, then on a bus to go visit Sylvia at work. Eventually we found the place and Sylvia. They had this weird ice cream called spaghetti (basically vanilla ice cream put through a spaghetti maker so its in pile of thin noodles, but ice cream). It looked so strange and different that I had to try it, they had all different toppings but I got berries. It was super yummy, and free which is always nice. Then Niece left to go to work. Sylvia only had a half hour till she was supposed to get off work so I didn't mind waiting a bit. I just listened to music and hung out. After a half hour she wasn't done yet so she made me some tea and went back to work. An hour later she finally got off and we headed back to her place. She dropped off her bike and we grabbed jackets and headed out.

We went to a cafe to eat (Sylvia was telling me about a bunch of possible food places for while I'm here). Sylvia was looking forward to the sandwiches at this cafe, but apparently she hadn't eaten there in a while because they no longer served them, in fact they no longer served food. We disappointedly went on to find food somewhere else. We ended up going to this little Turkish restaurant and getting traditional Turkish kabob, but in a bread pocket (they added the bread pocket when they came to Germany to make the food able to be eaten on the go). I actually didn't like it that much, it was kinda disappointing. I also tried a German soda which is orange soda mixed with cola, and that was actually pretty good.

After the food we went back to the cafe (the one we tried to eat at) because Sylvia liked it and her friend works there. We both got a tea, but after my day of traveling and her day of work we were both so tired we could barely stay awake. Once our tea was gone we headed back and went to sleep.

Not the best first day in Germany.

I don't know what to call this one, I guess "Chill Day With The Grandparents" or "Everythings Gonna Be Alright"

Woke up at a decent hour (even though I haven't been sleeping well because there are a bunch of bugs in the basement and I'm freaked out they're gonna attack me or crawl on me in my sleep). I got up, took a shower and went online to check for a message from Sylvia, but STILL NO RESPONSE!!!!

I went upstairs and ate some breakfast. We had planned to go buy my train ticket that morning, but we couldn't yet, so we just hung out. I went back to the computer and emailed a couple people trying to find other ways of getting a hold of Sylvia.

Later we had lunch. Little salmon steaks with grilled veggies. Very tasty. After lunch we went into town and went to the museum in Colmar, the Unterlinden Museum. It was very interesting. They had an exhibit by an American painter, Joe Downing. They also had a modern art section, and archeological section, a medieval section and a section of all things typical of a traditional home in Alsace. They had these really weird fancy standing fireplaces that connected to the wall, but stood away from it and were very decorated. Anne Marie said that some old homes in the Alsace area still had them. The museum was made out of an old convent so there were many rooms and halls with a lot to see. Eventually we saw everything (including giant wine barrels and grape presses from long ago. Although Anne Marie said that some wineries still use them).

We walked back through town and poked our heads in a few places (I was trying to look for a wine bottle opener, but was having no luck). We got back to the car and headed home.

When I got home I checked my email and there was A MESSAGE FROM SYLVIA!!!! I was very happy and relived that I had someone to pick me up and all was gonna be okay. I went upstairs and told Anne Marie and Christian the good news. They suggested we go ahead and go get my ticket right away. So we hoped back in the car and went to the train station. There I bought an extremely overpriced ticket, but oh well. At least now I've got the ticket and some one to pick me up so all is well.

We got back to the house and had tea time (even little yummy tea cookies). Then we just chilled some more. I responded to Sylvia's message, and read a bit of my book. Then we had dinner which was this very traditional food of Alsace. Its like a French/ German pizza. You start with a piece of flat dough, then there's a special creamy sauce, then you add cheese, another kind of cheese, grilled onions and sausage (although the second one we had was vegetarian, aka no sausage, and I liked that one better, but both were very tasty). Then there was a bit of salad and yogurt for dessert. I had framboise (raspberry) yogurt. Then Christian wanted ice cream so we all had some. I had a berry sherbet popsicle with cassis in it, very yummy!

After supper I gave them a little thank you gift made by mom. They seemed to really like it, so that's always nice. Then they called Julian and Hugo and had me talk to both of them. Silly grandparents are so funny, but it did give me one last chance to talk to both of them before I left the country. Then I packed and packed till I was all packed up. I was gonna take a shower, but it was kinda late and I had to be up early for the train the next day, so off to bed.

Wednesday With An Egyiptian In Strasbourg

So I woke up early, got ready, ate breakfast then hoped in the car with Anne Marie and Christian. They dropped me off at the station like a half hour early, so I walked around the fountains outside the station listening to my Ipod for a bit. I also went to the little Tabac (cigarette and news stand kinda place). I looked at the French magazines, lots of naked ladies on the covers (very French, and not American). Then I got on my train and ate a banana as I headed for Strasbourg.

Once arrive I got off the train with my green fedora on my head (so that Rita could easily spot me). I found Rita and we headed out of the station. Rita is a friend of Anne Marie and Christian's. She lives in Strasbourg and goes to University there. She was born in Iraq, but her parents were Egyptian, so she grew up in Egypt. Until they took a family trip to France, and didn't go back. So she's lived in France since. English was her first speaking language, but she also speaks Arabic and French. Her English was a bit rusty but we got along brilliantly. She had just recently done training in England so she had some recent practice in English and enjoyed practicing with me.

We left the station and headed for the Modern Art museum. We had a bit of trouble finding it, but no worries we just talked as we walked around till we found it. Then after it opened we went inside and looked around. It was okay. They had some big sculptures and some cool pieces. I'm not a huge modern art person, but it was okay. Rita and I both found some of the stuff very strange. The sculptures were impressive though because they were huge.

After the museum we headed toward the center of town. We planned on taking the Tram, but it was shut down for some repairs. So we walked and chatted and headed toward the Cathedral. Now I have seen many French churches by now, so I was expecting just a Cathedral. How wrong I was! We turned the corner and there was this massive Cathedral that was nothing less than stunning. Every inch of it was beautifully carved and it reached higher into the sky than any other building around it. It was like a heavenly skyscraper. I was in awe as we walked toward it. So stunning, so amazing!!!! Rita said that at night they light it up all different colors. I wish I could have seen that. I took some pictures and stood in awe a bit longer, then we went up the steps to go inside. But, unfortunately it was closed for lunch. So we decided to come back after lunch.

We went to lunch at this sneaky little restaurant (I say sneaky because you have to go down a path, then a hall, then downstairs, and there is the restaurant). It has a cool atmosphere since it is in a basement. Rita took me there because they have very traditional food of Alsace. (Get ready I'm gonna talk about food again) We decided to do a "meal" aka starter, main course and dessert, because it was pretty cheep and looked really yummy. We ate very French. We had a drink to start, I had Kir made with Champagne. Then for a starter I had a piece of onion tart (very traditional of the area), then for the main course we both had chicken in a creamy wine sauce with homemade noodles. We had white wine made in Alsace to go with it. And some fresh rolls, because there has to be bread. It was so super good, but so much food!!! :p Then we had a fruit tart for dessert which wasn't so good, so we just ate the fruit off the top.

Once we were so full we that we didn't want to eat for days we paid the bill (courtesy of the grandparents, they're so sweet) and headed back to the church. Luckily the restaurant was very close by. We went in the Cathedral and it was pretty, but not as pretty as the outside. Really cool though!!! They had this fancy lite sculpture that was pretty intense. They also had this really awsome clock that had three faces one for the time as determined by the stars, one by the moon, and then the normal time. It was pretty impressive, and my knowledge of Astronomy came in handy (guess that wasn't a total waste of time).

After the cathedral we went to go on a boat tour, the line was really long, but we decided to anyway. We stood line to get the ticket, then stood in line to get on the boat, then waited on the boat for the tour to start. They had headphones so you could hear the tour in the language of your choice. (I chose English, surprise!) The tour was pretty cool. We saw alot of the city, and got the history along with it. Famous buildings and bridges, cool architecture. Very good, other than the way to mellow music (we had just eaten a big lunch, it was warm, and the boat rocking was soothing, the calm music definitely didn't help the sleepy factor). Thus, we both fell asleep at several points on the tour. Not for long, just dosed of now and then. We were awake to see the huge building that's the center for the European Union (Strasbourg is the capitol of the EU).

After the boat ride/ nap we went to a museum of classic art. Very pretty, very classic. We wandered around there and looked at the pretty paintings for a bit as we planned our next move. Once we decided to go to Rita's apartment we headed out.

We took the train and got to the apartment. We stopped at the McDonalds next door to her apartment (first one I had been in, in France). She wanted to get some ice cream, so we got some. Rita needed to change shoes so she did that and we chilled in her tiny flat for a bit.

After that we went back to the center of town to meet her friend and go to a bar. She also spoke English very well, which was nice. We went to the bar and all had a drink. Then we headed to the train station. We checked the time and had a bit to wait. So we went on the lawn in front of the station to chill on the grass for a bit. It was funny because Rita apparently almost never drinks, so she was a bit silly.

Then we headed back in the station, and found my platform. I said my goodbyes and got on the train. I was behind the originally planned schedule, so when I arrived in Colmar I didn't have to take the bus. Anne Marie and Christian picked me up and we went back to the house.

We ate practically no dinner because we were all so full from eating big meals in the middle of the day. Then we had another chill night. I was a bit worried because I was waiting for a message from Sylvia (my friend in Germany who I was leaving to stay with on Friday). It was Wednesday night and I hadn't heard from her. I was very worried because I didn't want to buy my ticket till I knew she would be able to pick me up at the station. It was a bit of a problem, so I emailed her again and went to bed. I just hoped she would respond by the morning so I could go get my ticket.

So Many Grapes!!!

I slept in a little but not much. Got up, got dressed and ready, then went upstairs and had some breakfast (bread and juice). After breakfast Anne Marie took me back to the finac. I brought the charger for my computer so I would get the right cord. We had to wait way to long for service, but eventually we got it. (Yay I can charge my computer again, too bad Anne Marie and Christian don't have wifi) Then Anne Marie took me to the big park in the center of town. She called it thier little Central Park. We walked around in the park for a bit and looked at the fountains (the French really like fountains). It was till early in the morning so there weren't manny people there. It was very peacful. Then we headed back to the car and came back to the house.

After a bit we had a nice little lunch. We ate some salads (shredded carrot, and beat. I never liked beat before but I like how they prepare it here) and some cherry tomatoes from their plant. Then we had some smoked pork and grilled potatoes. Very yummy. Anne Marie was telling me that in Alsace (the area where they live) it is very typical to eat pork and potatoes so many people are fat. She's so cute and funny.

After lunch Christian came back (he had gone to take his friend grocery shopping and have lunch with him since he is in a wheelchair and lives alone). Once Christian was back we went to the train station and they showed me the platform I would get on the train and the platform I would get off for my journey to Strasbourg the next day. They also showed me where to stamp my ticket (which I forgot to do last time, whoops). They also showed me where to get on the bus to get back to the house.

Then we went to these two little villages on the hillside. They are very close to Germany and famous for making wine and brightly colored buildings. We walked around the first one, which was very pretty. We went in a church and saw all the different colors of buildings (green, blue, pink, red, yellow, orange,purple, etc.). They were very postcard like. We found a gift shop and I bought a small plushy of the famous bird of Alsace called a Cigogne(its basically a stork with red legs and a red beak). It looks very funny and I like it alot. We wandered for a bit then hoped in the car. We then drove though rows and rows and rows of grape vines. There were grape vines all the way up, and all the way down the hillside. It was pretty incredible.

We made it to the other village and parked the car. We saw a nest on top of the bell tower of the church. It was the Cigognes, we could see them way up there. Then we walked through the town. It was very much like the other one. Very cute with many colors of buildings. We went in another church (also with a nest of Cigognes on its roof, I got a picture). It was the church of one of the Popes. We walked around for a bit then I bought mom and dad an anniversary gift (I'd tell you about it but they read this, so maybe after I give it to them). Then we walked back to the car(which took a bit because the streets are in rings, not a grid) and headed home.

When we got back we had tea time!!! These are the only French people I have met that have tea time. I was all about it beacause I love tea. So I had some green tea and we ate some little tea cookies.

After tea we walked to the bus station I needed to stop at and walk from to the house. So we walked there, they showed me the elementary school their children went to, a very modern church, and a place where many of the people in Anne Marie's organization live. (for clarification: Anne Marie and CHristian are retired, but Anne Marie works for an organization that helps immigrats with finding work and learning Frech, because she's just an awsome lady) We got to the bus staion and they showed me in which direction the bus would come from, then we walked back to the house.

After we got back I called mommy. We talked and talked. She had seen Chris and he needed a ride to Great Falls, dad was leaving for a case in (guess where) Great Falls the next day, so Chris was catching a ride with him. I told her all about what was up then had to get off the phone cause I'd been on for a while.

I computered for a bit (still behind on the blog, I know) Then went upstairs for supper. Anne Marie had made some tomato, green beans and cheese salad, very tasty, and some bread. Very light and delicious. For dessert I had some Greek yogurt with fruit in it and a bit of sugar. It was very nice. I helped clear the table, watched the news, then went downstairs to take a shower. After the shower I said goodnight to Anne Marie and Christain, went on the computer for a bit, then bed. I made sure to set my alarm because I had to be up early the next day to get on the train for Strasbourg.

Over the river and through the woods to grandparents house I go

I woke up super super early, got ready and finished packing. I ate a little bit of breakfast, confessed about blowing out the breaker, said goodbye to Camille and put mu stuff in the car. Then off Coco and I went to the train station. I said goodbye to Coco, tolm to come visit San Fran, grabbed my stuff and headed into the station.

I stood in line, got my ticket, found the train and hoped on. The first train was only half an hour. I ate a banana and hung out, slept a tiny bit. Then got read for the train to stop at the station. I had a 15 minute layover between trains, and my train arrived 12 minutes late. I scurried off, found the platform and hoped on the train. After some confusion I found my seat. I saw that I had messages and a call from Hugo saying I needed to call his grandparents and tell them when I arrived. I told him I emailed them, but I prepared my script (they speak almost no English) and called them. I left a message, but Hugo said that wasn't good enough. After some confusion Hugo called them and they had gotten my email and knew when to pick me up. Hugo's grandmother called and confirmed with me in French. I ate some of the food I had brough, read my book, listened to music and hung out. Very chill.

About 5 hours later I arrived in Colmar. I was greated by Christian (Hugo and Juilien's grandfather) holding a sign that said Amber on it. I've never had anyone hold a sign for me, I felt kinda special. Then we found Anne Marie (the grandmother). We said Bonjour and headed to the car.

We got to thier house, I put my stuff in the guest bedroom, then I got a tour from Anne Marie. It is interesting because Christian speaks no English and Anne Marie speaks very little. So I am getting alot of practice.

After my tour we went into town and walked around. They showed me the shopping area, the oldest building, some churches, and other cool stuff like that. We went into one of the churches, very pretty (and of course I took pictures of stained glass). I saw the river that runs through the city and othe historical areas. We also went to finac (electronic store) to see if I could get a new converteer. They didn't have standard converters, only converter cables you plugged directly into your charger. I didn't know whether I needed a 2 or 3 conector, so I didn't buy one and will have to come back. It started to rain so we headed back to the car.

We came back to the house (only like a 10 min drive from town) and put our umbreallas to dry. We hung out for a bit. I went online and unpacked a few things. I talked to a girl named Rita on the phone. I will be spending Wednesday with her in Strasbourg because Christian and Anne Marie will be gone. (They didn't want me to spend the day alone so they're putting me on a train to spend the day with an Egyptian girl who speaks English). They also gave me some details like train and bus info.

Then after a bit we had dinner. It was nice because it wasn't a ridiculous amount of food like some of my meals here. It was hust a cheese tart with some salad and bread. Then yogurt and plum fuity stuff for dessert. Very nice and not excessive. Then they called Julien, and had me get on the phone to say hello. I talked to him for a bit and his parents laughed at my horrible French (stupid speaker phone). Then they watched the news. I joined them, I could follow along sometimes. I had some Mint hearbal tea and watched some French comedians on TV. (They made no sense to me at all, either not funny or I couldn't follow, but probably the not following) After that I left the grandparents to go downstairs and take a shower. (get all the travel dirt off of me) Then I put on my pjs and said goodnight to the grandparents. I finished getting ready then went onlind for a bit before I headed to bed.

Zombie Day

I woke up around 10 but knew everyone else would be asleep so I just went online for an hour. I found an email from Julien informing me I could stay with his grandparents for the time I was supposed to stay with him. He told me they lived in Colmar and would be happy to have me stay. That works for me.

After an hour or so I wandered downstairs and ate some breakfast with Lauren. Camille was there too and Margaux was in the shower. We all just hung out for a while waiting for the other people to come at noon for the picnic they had planned.

It was supposed to be the four of us, Alice, Coco, and two other friends of Camille. But, Coco brought four of his friends, and they brought food from the party the night before. So the picnic ended up being leftovers from the party. We all ate. Camille's two other firned arrived with a tart and this yougurt cake that was basically the best thing ever ( so delicious)! Then sat around and chatted for a bit. Alice had to leave to go to Lyon to work, which is super lame, so she said good bye. Coco set up camp in the corner of the garden and feel asleep in the shade (he decided not to go to bed at all the night before, so he needed it). The other boys followed and set up places to sleep. The girls then set up a spot on grass and hung out. I jumped on Camille's computer and checked the times a train ticket. I just sat there for a bit, but none of them were talking to me at all, or talking slow enough for me to understand. So I grabbed my computer and worked on my blog next to them till my computer died.

I hung out there for a bit, then felt I was wasting time, so I went upstairs, plugged in mu computer and jumped back online. My mom was on skype so I skyped with her and dad for a while (although neither her mic or camera was working, so it was pretty much me talking to them and them typing short responses). We talked about a lot though, and they were happy to see my face (I would have liked to see them too though).

After a while I thought I should go downstairs and see what was up. They were playing really really old Disney Trivial Pursuit in the graden. (in French of course) helped a bit when they would translate but I didn't follow at all. I went inside to talk to Coco, just to make sure the time was okay for him taking me to the train station the next morning (and to remind him to play me Manos Negra, and he did, and I liked them, or what I heard of them). I jumped on Camille's computer and bought and printed my ticket. Then I took a walk into town (just little old me). I went to the bakers and bought a bagette, then to the Fromagerie (cheese shop) and bought what Camille, Margaux, and I liked to call Lady Sheep Cheese. (it was the best cheese I had, had in Cusy) Then I walked back to the house triuphantly with my bread and cheese (singing to myself Allotta with the lyrics, "I have lady, I have lady sheep cheese")

When I got back the boys were gone, then the girls left, then it was just me and Camille. I started packing and Camille packed for spending a week with her grandparents. In the process of packing I managed to trip on my computer cord and break my converter. I attempted to fix it but I needed tape. I figured I'd deal with it later. I gave Camille a little glass heart I had brought her from Mom's studio as a thank you. She seemed to like it.

We had dinner, which unfortunatelwas the same leftovers again :p (they weren't that good the first time). We watched The Darjeeling Limited while we ate. I hadn't seen it before, it was strange, but I kinda liked it. After the movie I took a shower and after that grabbed the tape to fix my converter and continue packing.

Unfortuly I decided to fix the power converter first, but I didn't fix it right. I know this because I blew out the power in my room. This was really great since I had to pack. I felt ver stupid, very bad for blowing out a breaker, and very useless because everyone was asleep and I didn't know what to do. I felt super stupid packing by flash light and hallway light, but I got it mostly done and went to bed. I set my alarm for early because I thought some sunlight might be helpful too.

by the way

sorry that the blogs are so long, I just don't want to leave anything out.

C is for Cusy thats good enough for me....

The title has nothing to do with the blog, but you get bonus points if you know the song.

I found out the night before that Camille's parents were leaving for holiday early the next morning(Saturday). This was a slight problem because I had a present to give to them to thank them for all thier hospitality. So I set my alarm for super early to catch them before they left and give them the gift. So I did. They really liked the gift although I am not entirely sure they understood the prpose (stupid language barrier). Oh well Camille can explain it to them when they get back.

Speaking of stupid language barriers, one caused me alot of trouble today. When I woke up the second time (because after I gave Camille's parents their gift I went back to bed, it was way to early) I checked my email to see if I had heard anything from Julien. I hadn't. This worried me because I was supposed to leave to go see him Sunday and it was Saturday morning and I had heard nothing. I had asked Hugo for Julien's phone number the night before (they are cousins), so when I didn't get an email I went downstairs and called him. When I got him on the phone I asked him about the emails. He hadn't responded because he was on holiday. No prob, but then he informed me that I could not come to saty with him this week because he left again for holiday that afternoon. Apparently we had a misunderstanding due to the language barrier. He had sent me an email weeks earlier about his schedule, he wrote it in his broken English and I understood it, or thought I did. The problem was that in the email he made it sound like he was putting the dates of when he was on holiday. Those weren't the dates I was planning on coming so I though there was no problem, but I had it backwards. Those were the days he was home. Apparently he had tried to send another email clarifying this, but I never got it. Anyway basically he was telling me I had nowhere to stay for 5 days. It was no ones fault, but it kinda sucked. He felt bad though and said he would call some friends to see if I could stay with them and he would email me what he found out that afternoon.

So I didn't have the best start to my day. Camille had gotten back from leaving early to got see a Doctor in Annecy so we sat down for some luch. Camille attempted to make ravioli (I say attempted because it ended up being noodles all stuck together with cheese flavor), it wasn't too bad though. Then some random other food like a banana. Not the most organized lunch.

Then we got ready and picked up Alice to go to this place near a nearby lake. I'm not sure what the French name is (and I don't know if there is a name for it in English) but basically you climb of guide between trees on an obsticle course type thing. You have to wear a helmet and harness, so your strapped in the whole time, thus it is impossible to fall. But, its still a bit scary to be up reaaly high in a tree trying to plance on a piece of cord with only one other chord to hold onto. It was kinda scary at first, so I went slow. sometimes you had to walk across a log, or swing from log to log, or balance on chords. The other thing was to glide on a chord from tree to tree. Once I got rolling I was acutally pretty good. Alice called me queen of the trees. You use your core alot for balance, and you use alot of upper body strength. Good workout though. There were three courses you could do (green, blue, red, and black) each getting slightly higher and more difficult as you went. I did the first three but by the time I was done with red my heands really hurt(they weren't used to climbing across ropes and holding onto wores really tightly so you can move your feet to the next spot) so I didn't do the black one. I cheered for Camille and Alice from the ground as they did it. Overall it was a really fun time. They asked me if we have that in the states, but honestly I don't know. Do we?

We headed back to the house and then the three of us walked to the market. I needed to buy some food to eat on the train (since the train food is expensive) so we went in and I found what I needed (well more than I needed, but better safe than sorry). I also bought some cachews for us to munch on durring the movie. We walked back to the house and went to the livign room to watch a movie. We had cachews and mini plums for munchies. We watched 21 Las Vegas (the American title is just 21, the one with Jim Sturgess). I hadn't seen it. I liked it, it was pretty good, but very predictable.

After that Alcie had to leave and Canille and I had to get ready. So I grabbed some clothes and hoped in the shower ( I needed a shower post monkey workout). Margaux and her friend Laren arrived and we finished getting ready. Then we gathered everything we needed and hoped in the car.

You see we were headed to a Birthday Party!!! It was a party for thier friend Kevin (nicknamed Keke, at first I thought they said Kiki and was very confused). He actually turned 20 in January, but I guess he felt like having his party in July. We were kind of surprised when we arrived because there were a ton of people there, and most of them were his family. There weren't too many people our age. I know Margaux and I were very surprised. We met some people, said hellos and gave the French cheek kisses to everyone. (I'm still not used to the cheek kisses with strangers, but its a nice polite and friendly way to be greated, I like it) We got some drinks ( I don't know the name but its blanch vin avec sucre et citron, aka white wine with sugar and lemon). Then we sat around, talked, met and greeted other people, and ate off little apetizer plates that were going around like little pizzas. We hung out till it was time for dinner. Then we all got plates full of food, fresh wine (red for me) and sat down to eat. A very nice guy named Andrew sat down to join us. He spoke pretty good English because he had spent time in the US, the problem is he spent time in Texas. He had a horrible view of Americans. I had to explain to him that not all Americans were fat, stupid, and super religious. I told him he hdad to come visit a different part of the US. He said he would, he was really funny and fun to talk to.

He also told me that there was another American at the party saying that Montanans ate thier children. I went over to talk to the other American and confront him about his dissing of Montana. First of all he wasn't actually American, he was a Brit who had immigrated to New York. I know because he had a British accent, and said he had recently moved to New York. When I confronted him about saying things about Montana he said there were reports of settlers eating each other, and that settlers had gone to Montana. I said that although that may be true, we don't eat our children in Montana. He just kept repeating about the settlers and reports. He was very snobby and rude, I didn't like him at all. SO I left and went bck to talking to Anthony, the nice French guy.

We ate more food and drank more wine. Till I spilt red wine on my jacket (which is tan) Anthony took me inside to try to wash it off and put salt on it (apparently that is how the French get rid of red wine stains. We watched a few minutes of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney version) in French because the little kids were watching it. I sang along to God Help the Outcasts in English, the kids looked at me confused, but Anthony found it interesting. We talked about voice overs and he gave me one of Keke's coats to wear. When we got outside Keke commented on my nice coat. He had been to America too so we talked for a bit in English.

Then a jeep full of crazily dressed people (Keke's friends) including Coco (Camille's brother, thats his nickname) who was dressed in a grass skirt and coconut bra. There was a clown costume, a Spanish costume, a typical French costume, etc. They all looked very funny (I wish I had a picture, but I didn't have my camera). One of them had a guitar, and another had a flute so after arriving they handed out lyrics and began to sing a Birthday medly with lyrics special for Kevin. I sang along and followed the song sheets but I didn't know the songs of understand most of the words. I did join in when they sang the American version of Happy Birthday in French.

Then Anthony and I got dessert and talked about stuff. The desserts were really yummy. Then Anthony had to go because he worked in the morning (sad) so he said farewell and left. After that I chatted with Coco and some other people. Coco told me about a band Manos Negra that he wanted me to remind him to play for me the next day. Coco was giving me shit the whole night about being under 21 so I shouldn't drink wine. He's trouble that one.

A bit later an epic dance party began that of course ai had to prtake in. I danced with Coco's girlfriend, Camille, Margaux, and Coco. It was super fun. I danced and danced till the music stopped. Everyone was just dancign and having a good time.

Once the dancing died down and I sat down I got really tired. So Margaux asked it I wanted to go to the tent. Camille and Margaux had planned on not driving back so they brought a tent and sleeping bags. It was already really late at this point so they set up the tent in 2 seconds and I crawled in and got in a sleeping bag and fell asleep.

Two hours later the girls came back and decided we would all sleep at Camille's house. So I got out of the sleeping bag, we folded up the tent, got in the car and headed to Camille's. Once we got there we all just went to bed.

Crazy French and their Crazy Birthday Parties!

Sorry for the Delay...

Okay so I know I am a few days behind on the blog. Sorry about that. I fell behind on Friday and didn't make up for it Saturday, then Sunday I accidently broke my adapter. Then in trying to fix the adapter blew out a breaker and killed all the power in my room the night I needed to pack. Thus my computer has very little power, I need to find a new adapter to charge it, and I had to pck all of my stuff by hallway light, flash light, or in the morning, sunlight. I hope to get a new charger soon, but until then I will use the computer available to me (aka Hugo and Julien's grandparent's computer because I am staying with em right now). I will try to catch up today and tomorrow, but just warning that I am back to a French keyboard with French spell check, so I appologize for typing errors.

Friday Night in Annecy

I slept in a little in the morning, but not much. I got some breakfast and then went back upstairs for a bit. I was visited by Camille's two little sisters, the older of the two had just come home today from staying with her father in Turkey. (She is the only half sibling) When I came back downstairs to the kitchen Camille was there! She gets off work early on Friday, so she was home by about noon. So we all ate lunch together, Camille, her parents, her two sisters, and I. We had duck which was yummy, some bread and some cooked potato vegetable crock pot kinda thing. (that is the best way I can think of describing it) Then we had some cheese with bread and after tea and coffee.

Camille was tired from working all week and staying up late being social, so we watched a movie, and Camille could fall asleep to it and get a little nap. So Camille and I sat down on the couch to watch a film. She let me pick, so I chose Good Morning England (that is the French title, the American title, aka what you know it as is Pirate Radio) I had never seen it and had wanted to so it seemed like a good choice. Camille put it in English with French subtitles since I was the one who really wanted to watch it and she was gonna fall asleep. Denis joined us after we started, and after Camille was asleep Martine joined us. She sat on Camille's feet and read a book. The movie was very good. British humor with great music and silly fun. I really enjoyed it, but I think I would like to see it again because I feel there were a few things I missed, and all of the text was in French, so it'd be nice to know what it said. (It went way to fast for my to try to translate)

After the movie Camille and I gathered what we needed and got ready to go to Annecy. Camille planned for us to go to Annecy for the evening with 2 of her friends (Alice and Margaux). So we packed a picnic, picked up Alice and headed for Annecy. Alice is super sweet and has pretty darn good English. She is fun to talk to. Camille drove us to Annecy (I fell asleep in the car). We got to Annecy and me Margaux on the shore of the lake. We got there and laid out our towels, the only towel I had to take was this really little one so everyone laughed when I laid it out next to the beach towels the other girls had. It was pretty silly. Camille apologized for not offering me a towel, but I thought it was funny. We all decided to go swimming, so we put on our suits and hoped in the water. (we changed with towels wrapped around us. very sneaky style, nothing showed, but still I feel the French are a bit less modest than Americans.) The water was cold, but not that cold for a lake, it would have been perfect in the middle of the day, but it was evening so the sun was beginning to set. In other words it was a bit to cold for my taste but I continued anyway. We went a ways into the water and were having fun. Alice wanted to go swim (like really swim) but we weren't feeling it so we went back to shore, dried off and moved our stuff into the sun (it was in the sun when we went in the water, but the sun had moved so we had to shift). Margaux joked about leaving Alice's stuff behind, then when Alice came out of the water to join us she joked that she expected we would have left her stuff behind. It was very silly. Then we dried off, got dressed and drank some apple drink Margaux had brought that had alcol in it, but so little that the whole bottle has the equivalent to one glass of wine. We drank that and talked. Then after a bit we had a picnic dinner. It was very simple just bread, salad, a banana and fruit compote. Once we were done we packed up and took our stuff to the car. We dropped off what we didn't need and headed toward the old city part of Annecy to get a Crepe.

We walked around and joked and talked till we found a Creperie. Then we sat down and ordered delicious crepes. I ordered one that had almonds, caramel and vanilla ice cream. (aka BEST CREPE EVER!!!) Super yummy!!! The other girls ordered equally fancy ones, with stuff like Nutella, banana, whip cream, etc. They all looked pretty epically delicious. Once we finally got the tiet andot the paying issue all figured out (stupidly compliated), we walked around.

We went up the hill to the castle (not as cool as the castle I went to before, plus it was under construction, so it kinda ruined the castleyness of it) then we wandered some cool back streets and picked out houses we would like to own. After they showed me some cool stuff like the bar they always went to in high school (remember this is France, they can drink at 18 qnd they finish high school at 19 or 20) they showed me a church, the capitol building, a boat bar, and other stuff like that. We chatted the whole way ass we walked. They also showed me the local Conservatory of the arts and a very strange duck statue (yes there are pictures, and sorry none of them are up yet). Eventually we made our way to a little Irish pub.I got a Kir (I know big shock, but it was actually cheeper than the beer) and Alice gotone too. The other girls got beer.e sat and drank and talked. Our plan was to go dancing after the bar, but we ran into a problem. You see there was this big party going on that night that we were unaware of. Since Annecy is pretty small, this meant that pretty much anyone going out that night would be going there. This ruined our plans of going to a little place nearby because it would be empty. We could have gone to the party, but there were 2 problems: 1 it cost money and we are all students on a budget, and 2 it was a theme part and none of us were dressed right. The theme was SHEEK AND SHOCK, in other words you wore something classy on top and something shocking on bottom. (I like this idea for a theme and may use it for a party in Cali) Anyway we were not properly dressed and though Margaux really wanted to go and I was in, the other girls didn't go for it.

So once we were done at the bar we headed back to the cars. I think Margaux was a bit upset because she didn't talk to us the whole walk back. Camille, Alice and I talked TV shows. Once we got to the cars we said farewell and headed home. Once we got back I went online for a bit to talk to mom ( yay! :) ) then to bed because it was pretty late by then.