parrisss

So I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted.  I've been extra super discustingly busy with midterms and such.  I've got several tests and presentations this week and next week, and somehow I decided it would be a good idea to go to paris right before that all happened.  

Well that turned out to be a good choice, I absolutely loveeeedddd Paris it was fantastic and beautiful.  I had such a wonderful time.  I got in on Thursday night and Jessica met me up at the airport.  We went and got crepes then went salsa dancing with some of her friends, it was a lot of fun.  Then Friday I wandered around the city on my own in the morning as Jessica was in class, I saw the Eiffel Tower, the Grand Palais, A museum near the Lourve that has Monet's waterlily's in it.  The gardens around the Lourve, and I ran into Sarkozy (since mom didn't know this, the French President)  i saw a group of paparazzi and wanted to know what was going on since there were also a bunch of armed guards and a convoy of cars waiting, and lo and behold, Sarkozy came out of the restaurant they were in front of!  I thought that was cool.  That afternoon Jessica and I met up, and had some awesome lunch and went to the Lourve and some other random places before we wen to get mimi from the train station.  Just sayin, Mona Lisa holds nothing the the Painting opposite it, The Last Supper, but not the famous one, it was still really cool and the venus de Milo has a wart, and no arms... I wasn't all that impressed.  Anyway, once we were with Mimi we went and got sushi and then met up with a couple of other AC students and hung out for a while. 

Saturday was another day of sightseeing, we went to Napoleons Tomb, walked down the Champ-Elysees, then had a picnic of bread cheese and fresh fruit in the park by the Eiffel Tower.  After that we wandered to a church on a hill, the name I can't remember because I don'tbelieve french is a real language and therefore have forgotten everything I was taught.  But we watched the sun set and listened to some musicans on the steps, first and a capella group and then a guy and his guitar, and ate french pastrys, mmm that was fun.  Then we hung out in the bar of our hostel and chatted with some austrailians and a canadian for a while.  That was neat.

Sunday we got a late start, but went to the Luxembourg Gardens, and then took mimi back to the train station and the Jessica and I went to Notre Dame and heard a concert by a choir that was randomly going on while we decided to go visit, then we went and walked around on the right bank and looked in some shops, but didn't buy anything and then had an all out french dinner.  I had to get my escargo fix... it was delliissh... 

All in all it was a really awesome weekend.  I really really enjoyed Paris, but It's good to be back in a coutry with a real language and an Ubahn system that makes sense and signs I can read and pronouce.  

It'll be a busy week, a bunch of people from the Goethe institute are coming to visit thursday and I'm really excited about that.  Other than that all that I've really had going on is studying like crazy.  I've made some new friends that are German of course... lol, I seem to have a radar for germans.  Hope all is well at home.

I miss you guys!

things I don't like about Vienna

I can only come up with a few.

1.  That the sun sets a 4:30.  4:30!!!!!! I go to class after it's pitch black outside 3 days a week.  I don't like that, plus I feel like it's bedtime at like 8 because it's already been dark so long.  4:30..... I can't take much more of this getting dark so early.

2.  That grocery stores are closed on Sunday.  that's just annoying, they are pretty much the only stores that close on Sunday, and it's the only place I ever need to go... sigh. 

3.  That the sun sets at 4:30. 

4.  We had to go to "Wal-mart" to buy a pie pan.  I hate Austrian Walmart more than the real one.  It's giant and messy and expensive.  Finding a pie pan was probably the thing I have had the hardest time trying to find since we got here, it took a good 2 hours of searching everywhere to find one.

5. 4:30!!!!!!!!!!!

That's really it..... I think.  I really do love it here, so it's hard to find things I don't like, I mean we have found a grocery store that carries everything we need to make tacos and quesadillas, they have good salsa and avacados, we had a big mexican feast last night and I made some pumpkin pie from scratch.  Both were amazingly delicious.  Especially the pie :)  I can now I have ice so I can make my own iced tea, but it's getting too cold to care about that anymore...  Pretty much everything (except for my family and friends!) that I miss from home I have found equally good replacements for here.  

4:30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That means when it's 10:30 in the morning there... and starting next week after your dst, 9:30 am, the sun is setting here. I'm counting down the days till dec 21 when it starts getting later again...