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20 octubre - day 50
Well, it's been forever.
I started listening to music again. I've strayed from my normal playlist, had a few friends make a few recommendations (including new software that is amazing beyond belief) and the semester has started to take on a different tone.
Granada doesn't seem to experience "fall" the way it happens in New England... by any means. All of a sudden one day it shifted and got FREEZING at night. That cold is slowly creeping into the daytime, but slowly-I'm in pants, a long-sleeve shirt and slippers now, whereas earlier today I was in shorts and a t-shirt-and I know it'll only get "worse" from here.
The cold weather throws me right back to home and to the feeling of wanting to go home that I usually feel throughout the fall until I come back to CT for Christmas break. This happens every year, and it even happened when I was younger (that I'd want to be home during the day in the fall), and it's especially difficult to deal with since I'm across the ocean from that home to which I'll never return. No big deal, though. I'm still having a fantastic time, and although I know I have to save some $ (and space in my suitcases) for warmer clothes later on, the highs are still around 70 degrees Fahrenheit and there's still talk of a beach trip over Halloween weekend.
It's been great having a Blackberry since I can keep in touch with practically anyone (hey, dad, I can text you! Just ask mom!) but it's definitely led to me being just as tech-dependent here as I am in the states. It's not a big deal, and I don't care about host mama's judgment, but at times it's taken its toll on my experiences while I'm out and spending time with friends. Spain is an incredibly social society (I know that's reduntant), but it really is a society of speakers. I went to an apartment party on Saturday where everyone was drinking but there was no table to be found, wine was more prevalent than beer, and I was able to hold a solid conversation with a few of the Spaniards (in Spanglish, for their sake) about some interesting topics even as the clock drew past midnight. Seeing as I love to talk, I've had a great time meeting Spaniards (though that happens relatively infrequently) and Americans alike (more frequently, mostly in school) and I definitely feel like I'm a bit more settled even though I thought I was fully settled already. It's interesting how (new) friends can add a dimension to an already dynamic lifestyle. I love it!
School has been treating me quite nicely as well. I decided to keep my literature class and drop grammar. This officially put me at EIGHT (8) classroom hours per day on Mon/Wed, but no class Tues/Thurs. This has worked out exceptionally well, as 8 hours of class doesn't hurt as badly as I thought it would, and having two (sometimes three) days off during the week is just magical. I'm never assigned too much homework, except maybe in Amalia's class, but I'm rarely overwhelmed and I've been able to stay on top of things and not stay up too late doing work. (It's talking on Skype that gets me in trouble!) But yeah, my schedule rocks and I LOVE both of my electives. The EU class is fascinating and the literature class has me craving novels and poetry. It's quite awesome and I'm so glad to be studying things that actually interest me.
That said... registration for BC classes is on November 15th. I've been having a lot of trouble thinking about home, or the States in general, especially since I won't be going home to my house and I have no idea what will happen in the spring when it's cold and I'm back with the girls, two doors down from James, a ten-minute walk to classes (I'll probably walk)... but it's hard to think about everything because I'm not there living it. I'm missing football which is a bummer but whatever, but really I'm missing the Connecticut and Boston versions of autumn, even though the cold weather still hits me in the face and reminds me of so many autumns past, like the cold usually does. I'm thrown back into memories of Lauralton (seriously???) and of DHS and going home so often last fall, and I guess fall is usually an emotional time for me (it is) because that's all I keep remembering. And then I look around and realize I'm in another country and that I've felt a majority positive feelings since I got here (with hiccups but what can you do) and that I've never experienced this kind of fall before. I love the idea of jumping right into this whole experience, it's just strange to be reminded of home so often. I've been battling homesickness but I think it'll get better. I'm almost halfway through the semester, which is terrifying. No use in rushing. This is where I am right now. I'll pay attention to everything Boston- and CT-related once I get there, and not a day earlier!
Anyway, what's happened in the last... hm, while. Let's see. 15 days! WOW! Lots to recap.
I'll keep it brief...
Wednesday, October 6th, was the day before the Paris trip. I remember having class for many, many hours, and I went to Hannigan's with Molly for a few at night. Thursday I was nothing but nervously excited. I agreed to meet up with some friends for breakfast in the morning but plans fell through. Bummer. I packed up all my things, ended up bringing a perfect-size wardrobe with me, and took off for the bus station around 1pm. After a city bus, a coach bus, a shuttle bus, and a plane ride, I landed in Paris a little bit early (around 7:15pm) and sat down, alone in an airport with practically no knowledge of French, and charged my phone.
After missing each other a few times, James and I finally met up at the airport (poor baby thought I was lost, and vice versa! Blackberry didn't work in France... booo) and embarked via metro to our apartment in the posh 7th district (7éme arrondisement). It was RIGHT next to a metro stop and was absolutely perfect in every way. Teeny tiny but big enough for two people to function. Spectacular. Amazing. We didn't spend too much time there, but it was a great little place and I'd definitely stay there again (or own one when I'm older!).
We went out to an amazing dinner that night, and I saw the Eiffel Tower (from a distance) for the first time in my life. SO COOL! The next day we took our time getting up and eventually made our way over to have lunch at Le Jules Verne, a restaurant located halfway up the Tower. The views were incredible and so was the food. What an amazing experience; I can't even begin to recap it. (James did a pretty good job, I'll link to his blog below, it's definitely worth a read.) We decided to continue being tourists and spent the afternoon walking, first to the Arc de Triomphe (via the river) and then back to the apartment via metro.
We had a ton of food recommendations sent to us for the weekend, but we had enough time and spending $ (thank god) to do a lot of investigating on our own. Being foodies, a nickname James has so lovingly bestowed on me, we spent most of our money on food and definitely lived lavishly in that sense. I have zero regrets, every single meal was FANTASTIC and I thank Bryan eternally for helping bankroll that segment of the weekend. Seriously. Talk about the best tandem birthday present EVER! I love the men in my life.
That said, my third meal in Paris consisted of gummy bears and a baguette. Don't judge me. James and I hung out in the apartment for a while, found out his flight home was canceled, ignored it, and eventually met up with Anushree, one of my best friends from high school, for a late-night picnic under the Eiffel Tower. We sat around with her friends, baguettes, cheese, and wine for all, met some crazy Australians, and watched the Tower sparkle every hour on the hour with huge flashbulb-sized lights. Magical! Later, Anushree decided to call it a night, but James and I headed over to the Odéon metro stop to look for a bar or a club. Anushree's "careful, it's expensive" warning didn't even BEGIN to cover it, but we found a place and hung out for a while; I had an $18 Cosmo variant that definitely should have been cheaper, but it was great to stay out with James since we barely ever go out together (generally my decision). We ended the night with a ham, egg, cheese and mushroom crêpe - even the street food is glorious in Paris!
On Saturday, we attempted to wake up early and plan out the day (breakfast, bread shop for baguettes, cheese shop, picnic, then whatever other, fun touristy things we felt like doing)... ended up sleeping in a little later than we'd hoped, so we skipped breakfast. We went to an open-air market instead, and it was honestly the best farmers' market I've ever seen in my life. Hands down. Tables upon tables of fresh food, others with prepared food, other vendors sold clothing and accessories and books. I've never seen so much food in one place. It was unbelievable. We walked around and bought a ton of snacks for lunch-baguettes and cheese, of course, along with roasted peppers, anchovy pâté, mixed olives (which James got for a discount because the seller was Italian), a spinach & goat cheese pastry, and two bottles of wine-then went back to the apartment to drop off some of the food before heading over to the Isle de Saint Louis, where we planned to have a picnic lunch and check out the Notre Dame.
On the way there, we made a reservation at a small French bistro whose name escapes me. We picnic'd at a different park than we had intended, but it was beautiful nonetheless, and we got to watch the tail end of a wedding reception. Adorable. The Notre Dame was incredible as well. I lit a candle for a few family members but otherwise generally stared in awe at everything; I haven't been inside a church or a cathedral in years. After our visit, we headed to the Musée d'Orsay as per Anushree's recommendation, and although we only caught about 20 minutes' worth of visitation because the museum closed early, I saw a ton of awesome impressionist and post-impressionist artwork that I figured I would only ever find in Paris. We went back to the French bistro for dinner, which was simply amazing (as French food seemed to be the whole weekend), and we were the last two people to leave but the owners didn't seem to mind. They joked with us in French, knowing full well we were naïve Americans who didn't speak the language, but the attitude was good all around. We met up with Anushree and one of her childhood friends again later that night, tried to look for a nightclub for a while but were unsuccessful, and eventually returned to the apartment via taxi, where we stayed for the rest of the night.
Sunday began late, as mine usually do, but we decided to head across town to the Sacre-Coeur, an incredibly ornate neo-Romanesque basilica with a breathtaking view of the city. We arrived at the metro station and realized there was an outdoor festival going on and that the street was full of various small cafés, restaurants, shops with bread, ice cream, liquor, and grocery stores mixed in for good measure. We bought an excellent baguette and combined it with Saturday's leftovers at our second park picnic ever. Indescribably adorable. We hiked up the hill to the basilica (passing through yet another open market), took a tour of the inside, then climbed 300 stairs to the dome and had a chance to look out at the Parisian skyline. The city is HUGE, much bigger than either of us thought, and the view was spectacular. (For the record: I am still, to this day, so overwhelmed by the beauty in everything I saw during my stay in Paris that I can't even begin to react or even describe my reactions to it... so bear with me if the adjectives get repetitive.) We stopped for ice cream and more bread (it's insanely addicting) on our way back to the metro, which we took back across town directly to the apartment. We stayed in for the afternoon and met up with two of our friends, Justin and Ali, later in the night; we hiked all over the place for dinner but eventually settled on a café/bar near the Panthéon. We went out for drinks shortly thereafter, talked a lot and enjoyed ourselves at a questionably gay bar (we really weren't sure), then took a taxi back to the apartment to rest up for Monday...
We planned to go visit the Louvre on Monday morning, as close to opening as possible (9am), so that we'd have a shot at seeing the Mona Lisa undisturbed. Well, we got there around 9:30 and the place was alive but not crowded, and it turned out to be singly the most perfect timing ever: we spent a comfortable FOUR hours in the museum (who'd have thought I could last that long in a museum), admiring centuries upon centuries of ancient through modern art, taking crazy amounts of photos and comparing our relative historical knowledge. The museum trip was so much fun, and it's something I would never have believed I'd enjoy, but it was, yet again, one of those times where I got to admire pure beauty with James by my side, and I'll never be able to describe how appreciative I am of those times.
The Louvre is on the right bank of the Seine, so we decided to walk down the river a bit to the nearest (large) metro station so we could enjoy some of the afternoon outdoors. We stopped for lunch at a random, small, Zagat-rated restaurant near the ACTUAL park on the island (the one for which we had aimed on Saturday), and I had the best foie gras of my life. We ordered it along with wine, bread, and a cheese platter, and I could never describe my surprise at the majestic simplicity of such a traditional Parisian meal. Anyway. We visited the park, took more photos, then headed to the Sainte Chappelle, a small chapel with the world's most incredible stained-glass windows. They're in the process of being restored, but it was mind-blowing to see the difference between untreated and treated stained glass. Restoration professionals are unbelievable. The Chappelle was beautiful and was definitely worth the wait in line!
It's a good thing we had great attitudes after such a beautiful day, because as soon as we got back to the apartment, I found out that my flight had been canceled for Tuesday as well, due to the air traffic controllers' strike scheduled for that day. (Just our luck, right?) After giving it some thought, James and I decided to stay in Paris for an extra night because Wednesday's flights looked a lot more reliable. After securing our flights, we realized it was nearly 10:00, and the city of Paris works in strange ways, so we went for a stroll and prayed that some restaurant would be open. Lo and behold, we ended up having dinner at a fantastic little restaurant right around the corner from our apartment, and we were served by the most adorable waitress I've ever met in my life. It was quite the experience: overcoming a language barrier is far more fun when everyone is laughing about it :) We called it a night after that and went back home to enjoy a FREE night in the apartment thanks to Vladmir, the owner, who decided to do us an incredible favor since the flight delays were not our fault. It would have been a disaster to find a new place to stay, so I'm forever grateful for him for helping us out!
Tuesday was unplanned, so we woke up and took our time figuring out what we wanted to do. I started Googling restaurants, and we ended up at a place fairly close called Café Constant, where James and I encountered the single most impressive menu either of us had ever seen! I had escargots for the second time that weekend, and James ordered quail for his entrée. (What can I say, we really are both quite adventurous eaters! Are you proud of me, mom? Hehe.) On our way home from lunch, we decided to stop at another restaurant/store called Au Petit Sud Ouest, which happened to be made up of-get this-all things DUCK! (Note: For our first date as a not-yet couple last January, James and I went to Balthazar, a French restaurant in NYC, and I had duck confit; to this day, I consider it the best meal of my life. Since then, I've been obsessed with duck, and James, an amazing cook, obviously loves it as well.) I bought some souvenirs and we made a dinner reservation (good thing!). We also stopped at a famous Parisian bakery and picked up another, smaller baguette and some croissants for the morning. We headed back to the apartment, took a quick nap, did a little homework, booked my new bus trip, and then got ready to head out and meet up with Sepanta, one of my good friends from BC. He met us at a bar in the next district, to which we walked most of the way since the metro was running slowly (the drivers were on strike too). After trading anecdotes about our respective abroad programs and our time in Paris, we headed over to Duck Heaven I mean Au Petit Sud Ouest, for-yet again-an amazing dinner of duck confit. It wasn't as impressionable as Balthazar's but it definitely hit the spot.
James and I headed home shortly thereafter, did some homework, packed up our things, and enjoyed one last night in Paris together. It had been now six full days of incredible memories, spectacularly beautiful sights, indescribably satiating food, and the kind of company only lovebirds can keep each other, and I never wanted it to end! Nevertheless, we slept through the night and awoke early so I could finish packing, jump in the shower, and head to the metro around 10am for my 1:30 flight. (the joys of metro strikes...) after a several-legged trip and some good conversation with a mom from Atlanta we met on the train, we made it to the airport in time to sit around beside my security gate and share a small breakfast. We had a tearful goodbye (per usual), and I boarded my plane almost immediately after I got through security. I flew back to Málaga, jumped a bus from the airport to the bus station (finally back in my comfort zone speaking Spanish!), and took another two-hour bus to Granada. I made it home at 7:30pm on the dot!
I missed all my classes that day, so I had a lot of work to make up for Amalia and notes to collect from friends in my other classes. Fortunately, my absences were counted as excused, since the strike was NOT my fault! (Bahaha, imagine if it were my fault.) I spent most of Thursday doing homework, and luckily my Mon/Wed classes met on Friday, so I had a chance to catch up a little in most areas. I spent a lot of Friday doing more homework (blah), and I actually ended up staying in Friday night.
This past Saturday I went on a trip with my group to Las Alpujarras, a series of tiny pueblo towns that were literally built into the side of a random stretch of mountains in the early 15th century. Crazy, right? The bus ride was insane, I took a Dramamine-esque drug that made me feel high as the bus wove its way around the mountains for an hour and a half, and the walk was cold (I was wearing shorts in cloudy, Spanish mountain weather) but it was a lot of fun overall. We got to see the inside of a house that's been the same since it was built around 1500. That's crazy to me. I have such a hard time putting myself into history that it didn't affect me too much to be standing inside a dwelling such as that one, but it was amazing to see how advanced the living spaces were and how ingenious the Arabs were who lived there. All in all, it was a sweet field trip, I took a ton of photos, and Dramamine is awesome.
I spent all of Sunday inside, still trying to catch up on homework. Literally, I didn't leave the apartment the entire day. Not a problem; I needed the rest, although it would have been nice to see the Realejo kids (we tried to make plans but they fell through). I had eight hours of class again on Monday, and as I continue to get the hang of it, I find I'm not as tired in the afternoon; thus, I went to a Yogilates class that evening, left feeling great, and hung out with Molly at Hannigan's for a bit (god, we are so boring). I didn't have class yesterday, so I slept in a bit, had a normal lunch (2:45ish in the afternoon), and headed out to the tetería down the street to do homework. I got some work done but obviously ended up back at Hannigan's, which is next door (conveniently). Ross played a chill music playlist so I could continue to read-it's surprisingly not too difficult to do homework at that bar-and Sarah, Gary, and Molly eventually all crawled in, because we all have no lives. We all (minus Ross) went out for tapas and tinto de verano (not in that order) down the street, and Molly and I left when they had to get down to business and work around 8:30. It was Rockstar Night last night, and we missed it, which was a bummer since there was Rock Band to be played, but whatever, it'll happen again!
Today has been relaxing as well. I didn't sleep too well last night, so a day full of class was somewhat painful, but I still love every minute of my two electives and it's easy to do well enough in Amalia's class that she doesn't have to pull me aside (like she has done with some others) to tell me that she expects more of me. (I can't even imagine how that conversation would go. I'd probably cry like I did the last time we had a "chat." Ugh.) I skipped yoga tonight and went out to play board games with Spaniards instead, which didn't actually happen... instead, I helped Teresa plan a Halloween event we're hosting at the colegio (the GRIIS program's K-12 sister school here in Granada) next Friday. I headed home around 9 and have been doing nothing much since! I don't know where the time goes.
This entry has taken FAR TOO LONG to type... god bless anyone who reads it. But hey, at least I'm up to speed!
Here's the link to James' blog, check out the Paris entries if you so desire, they have PHOTOS (!!!) and they're much more elaborate: http://jamessasso.blogspot.com
Not much planned for this weekend except some rendezvous-ing with Meg and Tess who are visiting with their program! Excellent! I might go back to the Baños Árabes on Saturday with them... god knows I'd appreciate the massage. We also have a flamenco show in the works, and they're taking trips to the Alhambra and the Albaycín, two places I'd love to visit again. We shall see how it goes.
Advice of the week: It's not worth trying to predict or control the future. Just have faith in yourself that you can deal with things or make them right again when they're wrong, and you'll be able to handle anything that comes your way. Don't fear the unknown... it might be better than your wildest dreams.
Until next time...
Courtney
Well, it's been forever.
I started listening to music again. I've strayed from my normal playlist, had a few friends make a few recommendations (including new software that is amazing beyond belief) and the semester has started to take on a different tone.
Granada doesn't seem to experience "fall" the way it happens in New England... by any means. All of a sudden one day it shifted and got FREEZING at night. That cold is slowly creeping into the daytime, but slowly-I'm in pants, a long-sleeve shirt and slippers now, whereas earlier today I was in shorts and a t-shirt-and I know it'll only get "worse" from here.
The cold weather throws me right back to home and to the feeling of wanting to go home that I usually feel throughout the fall until I come back to CT for Christmas break. This happens every year, and it even happened when I was younger (that I'd want to be home during the day in the fall), and it's especially difficult to deal with since I'm across the ocean from that home to which I'll never return. No big deal, though. I'm still having a fantastic time, and although I know I have to save some $ (and space in my suitcases) for warmer clothes later on, the highs are still around 70 degrees Fahrenheit and there's still talk of a beach trip over Halloween weekend.
It's been great having a Blackberry since I can keep in touch with practically anyone (hey, dad, I can text you! Just ask mom!) but it's definitely led to me being just as tech-dependent here as I am in the states. It's not a big deal, and I don't care about host mama's judgment, but at times it's taken its toll on my experiences while I'm out and spending time with friends. Spain is an incredibly social society (I know that's reduntant), but it really is a society of speakers. I went to an apartment party on Saturday where everyone was drinking but there was no table to be found, wine was more prevalent than beer, and I was able to hold a solid conversation with a few of the Spaniards (in Spanglish, for their sake) about some interesting topics even as the clock drew past midnight. Seeing as I love to talk, I've had a great time meeting Spaniards (though that happens relatively infrequently) and Americans alike (more frequently, mostly in school) and I definitely feel like I'm a bit more settled even though I thought I was fully settled already. It's interesting how (new) friends can add a dimension to an already dynamic lifestyle. I love it!
School has been treating me quite nicely as well. I decided to keep my literature class and drop grammar. This officially put me at EIGHT (8) classroom hours per day on Mon/Wed, but no class Tues/Thurs. This has worked out exceptionally well, as 8 hours of class doesn't hurt as badly as I thought it would, and having two (sometimes three) days off during the week is just magical. I'm never assigned too much homework, except maybe in Amalia's class, but I'm rarely overwhelmed and I've been able to stay on top of things and not stay up too late doing work. (It's talking on Skype that gets me in trouble!) But yeah, my schedule rocks and I LOVE both of my electives. The EU class is fascinating and the literature class has me craving novels and poetry. It's quite awesome and I'm so glad to be studying things that actually interest me.
That said... registration for BC classes is on November 15th. I've been having a lot of trouble thinking about home, or the States in general, especially since I won't be going home to my house and I have no idea what will happen in the spring when it's cold and I'm back with the girls, two doors down from James, a ten-minute walk to classes (I'll probably walk)... but it's hard to think about everything because I'm not there living it. I'm missing football which is a bummer but whatever, but really I'm missing the Connecticut and Boston versions of autumn, even though the cold weather still hits me in the face and reminds me of so many autumns past, like the cold usually does. I'm thrown back into memories of Lauralton (seriously???) and of DHS and going home so often last fall, and I guess fall is usually an emotional time for me (it is) because that's all I keep remembering. And then I look around and realize I'm in another country and that I've felt a majority positive feelings since I got here (with hiccups but what can you do) and that I've never experienced this kind of fall before. I love the idea of jumping right into this whole experience, it's just strange to be reminded of home so often. I've been battling homesickness but I think it'll get better. I'm almost halfway through the semester, which is terrifying. No use in rushing. This is where I am right now. I'll pay attention to everything Boston- and CT-related once I get there, and not a day earlier!
Anyway, what's happened in the last... hm, while. Let's see. 15 days! WOW! Lots to recap.
I'll keep it brief...
Wednesday, October 6th, was the day before the Paris trip. I remember having class for many, many hours, and I went to Hannigan's with Molly for a few at night. Thursday I was nothing but nervously excited. I agreed to meet up with some friends for breakfast in the morning but plans fell through. Bummer. I packed up all my things, ended up bringing a perfect-size wardrobe with me, and took off for the bus station around 1pm. After a city bus, a coach bus, a shuttle bus, and a plane ride, I landed in Paris a little bit early (around 7:15pm) and sat down, alone in an airport with practically no knowledge of French, and charged my phone.
After missing each other a few times, James and I finally met up at the airport (poor baby thought I was lost, and vice versa! Blackberry didn't work in France... booo) and embarked via metro to our apartment in the posh 7th district (7éme arrondisement). It was RIGHT next to a metro stop and was absolutely perfect in every way. Teeny tiny but big enough for two people to function. Spectacular. Amazing. We didn't spend too much time there, but it was a great little place and I'd definitely stay there again (or own one when I'm older!).
We went out to an amazing dinner that night, and I saw the Eiffel Tower (from a distance) for the first time in my life. SO COOL! The next day we took our time getting up and eventually made our way over to have lunch at Le Jules Verne, a restaurant located halfway up the Tower. The views were incredible and so was the food. What an amazing experience; I can't even begin to recap it. (James did a pretty good job, I'll link to his blog below, it's definitely worth a read.) We decided to continue being tourists and spent the afternoon walking, first to the Arc de Triomphe (via the river) and then back to the apartment via metro.
We had a ton of food recommendations sent to us for the weekend, but we had enough time and spending $ (thank god) to do a lot of investigating on our own. Being foodies, a nickname James has so lovingly bestowed on me, we spent most of our money on food and definitely lived lavishly in that sense. I have zero regrets, every single meal was FANTASTIC and I thank Bryan eternally for helping bankroll that segment of the weekend. Seriously. Talk about the best tandem birthday present EVER! I love the men in my life.
That said, my third meal in Paris consisted of gummy bears and a baguette. Don't judge me. James and I hung out in the apartment for a while, found out his flight home was canceled, ignored it, and eventually met up with Anushree, one of my best friends from high school, for a late-night picnic under the Eiffel Tower. We sat around with her friends, baguettes, cheese, and wine for all, met some crazy Australians, and watched the Tower sparkle every hour on the hour with huge flashbulb-sized lights. Magical! Later, Anushree decided to call it a night, but James and I headed over to the Odéon metro stop to look for a bar or a club. Anushree's "careful, it's expensive" warning didn't even BEGIN to cover it, but we found a place and hung out for a while; I had an $18 Cosmo variant that definitely should have been cheaper, but it was great to stay out with James since we barely ever go out together (generally my decision). We ended the night with a ham, egg, cheese and mushroom crêpe - even the street food is glorious in Paris!
On Saturday, we attempted to wake up early and plan out the day (breakfast, bread shop for baguettes, cheese shop, picnic, then whatever other, fun touristy things we felt like doing)... ended up sleeping in a little later than we'd hoped, so we skipped breakfast. We went to an open-air market instead, and it was honestly the best farmers' market I've ever seen in my life. Hands down. Tables upon tables of fresh food, others with prepared food, other vendors sold clothing and accessories and books. I've never seen so much food in one place. It was unbelievable. We walked around and bought a ton of snacks for lunch-baguettes and cheese, of course, along with roasted peppers, anchovy pâté, mixed olives (which James got for a discount because the seller was Italian), a spinach & goat cheese pastry, and two bottles of wine-then went back to the apartment to drop off some of the food before heading over to the Isle de Saint Louis, where we planned to have a picnic lunch and check out the Notre Dame.
On the way there, we made a reservation at a small French bistro whose name escapes me. We picnic'd at a different park than we had intended, but it was beautiful nonetheless, and we got to watch the tail end of a wedding reception. Adorable. The Notre Dame was incredible as well. I lit a candle for a few family members but otherwise generally stared in awe at everything; I haven't been inside a church or a cathedral in years. After our visit, we headed to the Musée d'Orsay as per Anushree's recommendation, and although we only caught about 20 minutes' worth of visitation because the museum closed early, I saw a ton of awesome impressionist and post-impressionist artwork that I figured I would only ever find in Paris. We went back to the French bistro for dinner, which was simply amazing (as French food seemed to be the whole weekend), and we were the last two people to leave but the owners didn't seem to mind. They joked with us in French, knowing full well we were naïve Americans who didn't speak the language, but the attitude was good all around. We met up with Anushree and one of her childhood friends again later that night, tried to look for a nightclub for a while but were unsuccessful, and eventually returned to the apartment via taxi, where we stayed for the rest of the night.
Sunday began late, as mine usually do, but we decided to head across town to the Sacre-Coeur, an incredibly ornate neo-Romanesque basilica with a breathtaking view of the city. We arrived at the metro station and realized there was an outdoor festival going on and that the street was full of various small cafés, restaurants, shops with bread, ice cream, liquor, and grocery stores mixed in for good measure. We bought an excellent baguette and combined it with Saturday's leftovers at our second park picnic ever. Indescribably adorable. We hiked up the hill to the basilica (passing through yet another open market), took a tour of the inside, then climbed 300 stairs to the dome and had a chance to look out at the Parisian skyline. The city is HUGE, much bigger than either of us thought, and the view was spectacular. (For the record: I am still, to this day, so overwhelmed by the beauty in everything I saw during my stay in Paris that I can't even begin to react or even describe my reactions to it... so bear with me if the adjectives get repetitive.) We stopped for ice cream and more bread (it's insanely addicting) on our way back to the metro, which we took back across town directly to the apartment. We stayed in for the afternoon and met up with two of our friends, Justin and Ali, later in the night; we hiked all over the place for dinner but eventually settled on a café/bar near the Panthéon. We went out for drinks shortly thereafter, talked a lot and enjoyed ourselves at a questionably gay bar (we really weren't sure), then took a taxi back to the apartment to rest up for Monday...
We planned to go visit the Louvre on Monday morning, as close to opening as possible (9am), so that we'd have a shot at seeing the Mona Lisa undisturbed. Well, we got there around 9:30 and the place was alive but not crowded, and it turned out to be singly the most perfect timing ever: we spent a comfortable FOUR hours in the museum (who'd have thought I could last that long in a museum), admiring centuries upon centuries of ancient through modern art, taking crazy amounts of photos and comparing our relative historical knowledge. The museum trip was so much fun, and it's something I would never have believed I'd enjoy, but it was, yet again, one of those times where I got to admire pure beauty with James by my side, and I'll never be able to describe how appreciative I am of those times.
The Louvre is on the right bank of the Seine, so we decided to walk down the river a bit to the nearest (large) metro station so we could enjoy some of the afternoon outdoors. We stopped for lunch at a random, small, Zagat-rated restaurant near the ACTUAL park on the island (the one for which we had aimed on Saturday), and I had the best foie gras of my life. We ordered it along with wine, bread, and a cheese platter, and I could never describe my surprise at the majestic simplicity of such a traditional Parisian meal. Anyway. We visited the park, took more photos, then headed to the Sainte Chappelle, a small chapel with the world's most incredible stained-glass windows. They're in the process of being restored, but it was mind-blowing to see the difference between untreated and treated stained glass. Restoration professionals are unbelievable. The Chappelle was beautiful and was definitely worth the wait in line!
It's a good thing we had great attitudes after such a beautiful day, because as soon as we got back to the apartment, I found out that my flight had been canceled for Tuesday as well, due to the air traffic controllers' strike scheduled for that day. (Just our luck, right?) After giving it some thought, James and I decided to stay in Paris for an extra night because Wednesday's flights looked a lot more reliable. After securing our flights, we realized it was nearly 10:00, and the city of Paris works in strange ways, so we went for a stroll and prayed that some restaurant would be open. Lo and behold, we ended up having dinner at a fantastic little restaurant right around the corner from our apartment, and we were served by the most adorable waitress I've ever met in my life. It was quite the experience: overcoming a language barrier is far more fun when everyone is laughing about it :) We called it a night after that and went back home to enjoy a FREE night in the apartment thanks to Vladmir, the owner, who decided to do us an incredible favor since the flight delays were not our fault. It would have been a disaster to find a new place to stay, so I'm forever grateful for him for helping us out!
Tuesday was unplanned, so we woke up and took our time figuring out what we wanted to do. I started Googling restaurants, and we ended up at a place fairly close called Café Constant, where James and I encountered the single most impressive menu either of us had ever seen! I had escargots for the second time that weekend, and James ordered quail for his entrée. (What can I say, we really are both quite adventurous eaters! Are you proud of me, mom? Hehe.) On our way home from lunch, we decided to stop at another restaurant/store called Au Petit Sud Ouest, which happened to be made up of-get this-all things DUCK! (Note: For our first date as a not-yet couple last January, James and I went to Balthazar, a French restaurant in NYC, and I had duck confit; to this day, I consider it the best meal of my life. Since then, I've been obsessed with duck, and James, an amazing cook, obviously loves it as well.) I bought some souvenirs and we made a dinner reservation (good thing!). We also stopped at a famous Parisian bakery and picked up another, smaller baguette and some croissants for the morning. We headed back to the apartment, took a quick nap, did a little homework, booked my new bus trip, and then got ready to head out and meet up with Sepanta, one of my good friends from BC. He met us at a bar in the next district, to which we walked most of the way since the metro was running slowly (the drivers were on strike too). After trading anecdotes about our respective abroad programs and our time in Paris, we headed over to Duck Heaven I mean Au Petit Sud Ouest, for-yet again-an amazing dinner of duck confit. It wasn't as impressionable as Balthazar's but it definitely hit the spot.
James and I headed home shortly thereafter, did some homework, packed up our things, and enjoyed one last night in Paris together. It had been now six full days of incredible memories, spectacularly beautiful sights, indescribably satiating food, and the kind of company only lovebirds can keep each other, and I never wanted it to end! Nevertheless, we slept through the night and awoke early so I could finish packing, jump in the shower, and head to the metro around 10am for my 1:30 flight. (the joys of metro strikes...) after a several-legged trip and some good conversation with a mom from Atlanta we met on the train, we made it to the airport in time to sit around beside my security gate and share a small breakfast. We had a tearful goodbye (per usual), and I boarded my plane almost immediately after I got through security. I flew back to Málaga, jumped a bus from the airport to the bus station (finally back in my comfort zone speaking Spanish!), and took another two-hour bus to Granada. I made it home at 7:30pm on the dot!
I missed all my classes that day, so I had a lot of work to make up for Amalia and notes to collect from friends in my other classes. Fortunately, my absences were counted as excused, since the strike was NOT my fault! (Bahaha, imagine if it were my fault.) I spent most of Thursday doing homework, and luckily my Mon/Wed classes met on Friday, so I had a chance to catch up a little in most areas. I spent a lot of Friday doing more homework (blah), and I actually ended up staying in Friday night.
This past Saturday I went on a trip with my group to Las Alpujarras, a series of tiny pueblo towns that were literally built into the side of a random stretch of mountains in the early 15th century. Crazy, right? The bus ride was insane, I took a Dramamine-esque drug that made me feel high as the bus wove its way around the mountains for an hour and a half, and the walk was cold (I was wearing shorts in cloudy, Spanish mountain weather) but it was a lot of fun overall. We got to see the inside of a house that's been the same since it was built around 1500. That's crazy to me. I have such a hard time putting myself into history that it didn't affect me too much to be standing inside a dwelling such as that one, but it was amazing to see how advanced the living spaces were and how ingenious the Arabs were who lived there. All in all, it was a sweet field trip, I took a ton of photos, and Dramamine is awesome.
I spent all of Sunday inside, still trying to catch up on homework. Literally, I didn't leave the apartment the entire day. Not a problem; I needed the rest, although it would have been nice to see the Realejo kids (we tried to make plans but they fell through). I had eight hours of class again on Monday, and as I continue to get the hang of it, I find I'm not as tired in the afternoon; thus, I went to a Yogilates class that evening, left feeling great, and hung out with Molly at Hannigan's for a bit (god, we are so boring). I didn't have class yesterday, so I slept in a bit, had a normal lunch (2:45ish in the afternoon), and headed out to the tetería down the street to do homework. I got some work done but obviously ended up back at Hannigan's, which is next door (conveniently). Ross played a chill music playlist so I could continue to read-it's surprisingly not too difficult to do homework at that bar-and Sarah, Gary, and Molly eventually all crawled in, because we all have no lives. We all (minus Ross) went out for tapas and tinto de verano (not in that order) down the street, and Molly and I left when they had to get down to business and work around 8:30. It was Rockstar Night last night, and we missed it, which was a bummer since there was Rock Band to be played, but whatever, it'll happen again!
Today has been relaxing as well. I didn't sleep too well last night, so a day full of class was somewhat painful, but I still love every minute of my two electives and it's easy to do well enough in Amalia's class that she doesn't have to pull me aside (like she has done with some others) to tell me that she expects more of me. (I can't even imagine how that conversation would go. I'd probably cry like I did the last time we had a "chat." Ugh.) I skipped yoga tonight and went out to play board games with Spaniards instead, which didn't actually happen... instead, I helped Teresa plan a Halloween event we're hosting at the colegio (the GRIIS program's K-12 sister school here in Granada) next Friday. I headed home around 9 and have been doing nothing much since! I don't know where the time goes.
This entry has taken FAR TOO LONG to type... god bless anyone who reads it. But hey, at least I'm up to speed!
Here's the link to James' blog, check out the Paris entries if you so desire, they have PHOTOS (!!!) and they're much more elaborate: http://jamessasso.blogspot.com
Not much planned for this weekend except some rendezvous-ing with Meg and Tess who are visiting with their program! Excellent! I might go back to the Baños Árabes on Saturday with them... god knows I'd appreciate the massage. We also have a flamenco show in the works, and they're taking trips to the Alhambra and the Albaycín, two places I'd love to visit again. We shall see how it goes.
Advice of the week: It's not worth trying to predict or control the future. Just have faith in yourself that you can deal with things or make them right again when they're wrong, and you'll be able to handle anything that comes your way. Don't fear the unknown... it might be better than your wildest dreams.
Until next time...
Courtney