Paris, Je T'aime

Good news. Remember when I said in my last post that I was quite saddened knowing I wouldn't be travelling again until after finals? Well that didn't last long and I was actually able to skip town again this past weekend and head for the marvellous city of Par-ee (Paris for you English speakers who didn't catch on)!

I definitely lucked out on this trip. I spent only a couple days lamenting on my lack of future travels when I got an invitation from my friend Charlie to see the Australia vs. France international rugby game on Saturday November 27. That fact in itself had me quite excited and it just topped it with a cherry when I found out that the game was at the Stade de France in Paris. Yes....I was a happy camper. Then Jess decided she was going to come along to explore the city for the weekend also! So we did what we've done best and got online to check out the train schedule and book hostels. We managed to snag on right by the Montmarte area just down from the Sacre Coeur basilica.

Since we had both already visited Paris on touristy trips (4 years ago for me) we decided to spend another long-weekend just relaxing and wandering...boy do I enjoy brief moments of that lifestyle in the midst of the rushed craziness of my usual life. We arrived Thursday evening and searched out the nearest Starbucks. Vitally important since we are so lacking in Grenoble. We then spent the night wandering around by the Moulin Rouge and checked out maybe going to a show....89 Euro?? Didn't happen. The cold was a bit of a shock since we'd been enjoying the mild temperatures of Grenoble, and walking around all day outside just aplifies the "chilled to the bone" feeling, so it was time for the ski jacket, toque and definitely shoes with socks!

Friday we hit up Starbucks again for a "Latte Caramel Noisette" (their Christmas special we don't have in Canada) and headed to Centre Pompidou. We voted against seeing the museums and instead just enjoyed the "modern art" architechture and went out in search of another Starbucks. We checked out the Sorbonne (only from the ouside due to security) and walked around the Latin Quarter in the afternoon looking in quaint bookshops and some jewlery stores. It was then that it started to SNOW....we were quite excited since this was the first snow of the season and we're in the romantic city of Paris....lacking men of course but that's okay. Our evening finished with a giant Indian meal and relaxation at a "tea house" near our hostel.

How did we start Saturday you might ask? Take a guess. Starbucks. I'm tellin ya, you gotta take what you can get while it's around because deprivation sets in fast when small cups of instant coffee are the only thing around. We met Charlie there since he had to come on a later train and took the afternoon to see the Tour Eiffel and walk along the Seine river, enjoying the fall colours and the sun that decided to finally peek through the clouds. We ended up at the Champs d'Elysee where we got to experience something Canada is missing. A Christmas Market! They have little log cabins set up along the avenue selling crafts, scarves, waffles, crepes as well as food stands with giant woks of tartiflette, paella, hot wine, etc. It was a feast for my eyes and my stomach! All the trees were lit up with Chrsitmas lights and there was a ferris wheel, merry-go round and slides that were entertaining the children. It was picturesque and even better when Jess and I went back Sunday to see it in the dark. Saturday night we headed to Charlie's hostel for dinner, beer and cards and off we went to the RUGBY GAME! We had managed to claim the last 2 scarves for that rugby match earlier in the day and were pretty excited to show our colours while cheering on the Aussie team. Of course they whopped France's ass 61-16 final score. Definitely tops as one of the most awesome moments in my life. To end the day, Charlie and I met up with Jess and two girls we met at our hostel (one from Germany and one from Australia) and checked out an absynthe bar that had a definite punk atmosphere.

Sunday was our last day in Paris and we decided to get some much needed rest....which really, was a stupid plan because you never really get a good sleep in a hostel. Either way, we stayed in bed until 10, had a lunch from the grocery store and spent the rest of the day just going back to buy some things we wanted and chilling at...Starbucks. Like I mentioned previously, we also went back to see the Champs Elysee all lit up at night and headed to the train station for a 1st class trip home (they were all out of the other seats....we're too poor for that usually haha).

Needless to say the weekend was an absolute blast and I got lots of fresh air, no matter how cold it was. I quite enjoyed getting my full caffeine fix (as you can see based on the 5 or more visits) and spending time with friends. A la prochaine fois!

Amsterdam

As I mentioned in my last post, Jess and I spent Thanksgiving weekend in Amsterdam. It was a little sad not getting to have the traditional turkey and mashed potato meal, like we usually do in Canada, and not getting to be with our families but we still had a good time.

Once again I was pleased to get my Starbucks fix (although $8 for a grande size) and stock up on Swiss chocolate since we had to train to Geneva in order to fly to Amsterdam. We got a chance to check out the Heineken Brewery/museum, Anne Frank House, coffee shops, the red light district and just wander around taking in the architecture and sights. We enjoyed numerous Dutch meals/pastries and finally got to have some strawberries (been craving them for a while).

I think I'm in denial that its fall. In Grenoble the weather had been sitting around 21 degrees since I arrived and the last two times that I've gone away for the weekend I've experienced temperatures closer to 10 degrees. And of course, each time I am under dressed since I was planning for warmer weather. Needless to say, I bought both a jacket and some winter boots in Amsterdam. No, it wasn't that cold but at least now I'm more prepared for when fall/winter actually does come. Because its more humid here than in Edmonton you feel the cold faster than you do back home too.

Now that I'm back in Grenoble for the next little while, it's time to focus on school. I've actually become very overwhelmed by my classes and not just because I've been leaving town frequently. Within the next 3 weeks I have 5 group presentations/reports to finish and 2 midterms to study for. GEM faculty says employers are looking for graduates that can work in groups but I think they took that to a little bit of an extreme when planning the curriculum!

If you want to read about my classes and assignments, Jess (another exchange student) wrote a blog all about it so you can check that out instead of me just repeating it all. Also note that 2 of these classes have regular and necessary textbook reading to keep up with and 2 of the classes usually have weekly or bi-weekly homework assignments as well. YAY!

Needless to say...I have lots of work to do. Hopefully I can just buckle down and focus even though my dad is visiting for the next two weeks. I think I'll have mad co-ordinating skills after all this group project/meeting planning when every class has a different group mixture.

Oktoberfest

I'm not going spill all the juicy details and stories on my blog so if you guys are still interested in hearing more about my trip to Oktoberfest you'll just have to ask once I get home to Canada. For now, I just have a few things to share...including the fact that going to Oktoberfest 2010 in Munich was probably one of the most memorable experiences of my life!

It was super nice the whole drive to Germany and as soon as we arrived at our super cute hotel in Talhausen (25 min outside Munich because prices were crazy $$ in the city) it started pouring. That didn't dampen our moods though as we were determined. I love German food so we had an authentic meal at our hotel and hitched a ride to Freising to the train station in order to get ourselves to Munich for the evening (Fri, Sept 24).

Because it was raining it was easy to find a spot at a beer tent at Oktoberfest. Just meant we had to keep our jackets and hoods up since there was no cover. And so the litres came....just kidding. Only two each, that night.

Woke up crazy early Saturday morning (5am) to be at Oktoberfest in line for a tent at 7:30am. Loved the breakfast of bratwurst on a bun and soooo loved my Chai latte from Starbucks that morning even though I paid almost $7CAN for it. We got into the tent fast enough (luckily) and the beer started flowing at 9am. We were back at our hotel and crashed in bed by 10:30pm and everything that happened in between...those are stories for in person HAHA. No, the rain never let up so that was part of it but 5L of beer in 7 hours or so will also help to do one in.

Sunday morning we got up, not at all hungover due to the 10:30pm bedtime, and made our way back to Switzerland with a quick stop in Munich to see the Olympic Park and the new soccer stadium.