All packed and ready to go to Paris for the day, and tomorrow I board my plane at 12:00. I can't believe it's all over.

I don't want to leave and you can't make me! I don't want to leave France ( Read more... )

So many times I will accept an invitation to something in France and then have no idea what I am getting into. It always ends up being just fine-- I'm usually just extremely under-dressed-- but then I comfort myself with the reminder that because I'm American the French have verrrry low expectations for how I look ( Read more... )

The things I will miss about France:--My two favorite French people in the whole world: Mathilde and Emilie ( Read more... )

This weekend I went to Ireland for a couple of days and then stayed a day in Paris. When will I ever be able to say words like that again? Ireland was great. We (Lauren, Daniel, and I) stayed in Limerick with Lauren's extremely hospitable friends Heidi, Rita, and Catherine. We went to a pub where we heard live Irish music (which was maybe my ( Read more... )

Yesterday the village of Caen celebrated Mardi Gras. It wasn't Mardi Gras. It wasn't even Tuesday. But whatever. In France, we do what we want. Carnaval is like Halloween, but it's more for teens and university students than children. Everyone dresses up, and the university students and high schoolers have a costume parade throughout the entire ( Read more... )

On Wednesday Zak rented a car and we drove to the Loire Valley to tour some palaces. We spent the night in Amboise after seeing the chateau there, as well as Leonardo da Vinci's home and tomb. The next day we saw Chenonceau, which was my favorite palace to tour the inside of (even more so than Versailles) because you get to see the kitchens! It ( Read more... )

Heidi and Zak are here in France! Heidi is my roommate and Zak is her boyfriend. His father is retired from Delta and so they bought Buddy Passes and came to France for a very low price. It's been so nice to have someone here who can see what I see! Studying abroad is so much better when you're able to share it with people from back home, even if ( Read more... )

I'm so, so, SO pumped about my remaining 81 days in France. It's simply not enough. I thought it would be, but it's not! Unfortunately it's non-negotiable as I leave May 30 and have to begin taking summer classes at UK by June 11, which isn't enough time with my family after this big France thing... sigh. Such is life when you've been slacking off ( Read more... )