Avignon, France

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Study Abroad

Today was my last class trip for my history class. We went to Avignon to see the Palace of the Popes. On the way to Avignon my friend Sally and I talked about how we are sad to be leaving but will be happy to be home in a way. She doesn’t really want to leave at all but we both know that this place is being special because of the friends that we have and the families that we have. She says that she never wants to come back because it won’t be as special because it is made special by the group. I kind of see that. I think there is definitely merit to that but I think I still will want to come back and visit my host family. It will be interesting to see what kind of person Paul turns into. I know it will be hard to stay in touch with Madame but I want to try anyways. Sally and I talked for most of the ride there about this and that. Mostly about France and our whole experience. There is a cooking class to learn to make the chocolate truffles which we want to try and do this coming Saturday. Also Catching Fire comes out here on Wednesday so we want to do that this coming week. She has already seen it because she went to the premiere but I haven’t seen it yet. It is out though in every other European country except for here though. So that is a bit annoying! But oh well.

When we finally got to Avignon about 45 minutes later we didn’t really want to stop talking. We parked the bus next to the Pont d’Avignon (bridge) with the promise that we would come back and could dance on it before we left for the day. You have to dance on the bridge because there is a children’s song here that is just as popular as ring around the rosy. So we skipped past the bridge and went through the remains of the rampart that surrounded the city and in to find ourselves in front of the enormous Palais des Papes, or Palaces of the Popes.

Holy cow that was a big building! It was really cool looking on the outside and looked like a castle because it was built in the castle style architecture. It has the cut outs at the top towers and also the holes in the wall that you could shoot arrows out of. It even had the towers above the door that you could open the bottom of and throw things at enemies trying to come in. It was pretty awesome! Though this being a religious place that wasn’t exactly needed especially because it was protected by the Comte de Provence and his army and then the French army. But it was still really cool looking. Our bus split into two groups and my group went with our normal professor. We went and toured the palace which was pretty cool. There were a lot of cool art pieces and it was kind of cool to see the architecture and the rooms that they used in the 1500’s. There were lots of bay windows where you could sit and look out the window. I thought they were really pretty and I hope one day to have a window like that that I can sit in and look out. I like sitting in windows and have always want to be able to.

We walked around for a couple hours and looked at all the rooms. There were some that were painted which we weren’t allowed to take pictures of, so naturally I did a little bit. WHAT. Don’t tell! It was really beautiful though. We saw where the monks would eat and where the pope would live and one of the coolest parts of it I thought was seeing all of the chimneys. I thought those were really cool and I can only imagine the amount of work to keep all of those going all of the time during the winter so that no one froze. Though maybe they did because weren’t monks supposed to use things very sparingly? I think so. So I wonder how often they really did light them, though because it was the pope I would think that they would light them more often than most monasteries. We also learned that 1/3 of the annual budget used to go to food. They would have 12 course meals every night, if that doesn’t sound like indulging to me then I don’t know what is!

We also looked out the window of indulgence where the Pope used to greet his honored guests because it overlooked the courtyard. He would then forgive their sins and bless them and all that. Next we went up on top of the building to a lookout tower. It was SOOO windy! The Rhone region gets more wind than we do that is for sure! It was super windy that no one wanted to stay out very long because it was already cold and with the wind it just got worse. But it was really pretty to look out over Avignon. But it was very windy!

After that we all left the Palais des Papes and went through Avignon to a little museum that had some sculptures in it that we had studied at the beginning of the semester. It was kind of cool but also we were all starving and ready to get lunch. Sally and I wanted to get home before 6 so that we could go to a big firework show thing that was supposed to happen in Aix at 6. Ideally we would have liked to be home at 4 to see the inauguration of the Christmas lights but we knew that wasn’t going to happen. After a quick run around the museum we were released or a two hour lunch break but we learned we should be back by 5:30 to Aix.

We headed out in the direction that Patrick said there was restaurants. He had come here earlier in the term and stayed a weekend with the rest of the group but Sally and I hadn’t been in town to go with. We went off in that direction and after a while started drilling him on where the heck we were actually going because there was nothing in sight the way that we were going. He said we were heading towards a Japanese restaurant. Then a guy in front of us turned around and was like I think you mates are going the wrong way and he pointed us back the other direction. We thanked him and turned around. I have noticed here that when I listen to other people who seem like they know where they are going, they don’t really ever know… It is kind of annoying. I at least say I think it is this way but I’m not sure. But oh well whatever. We found the place eventually that Patrick was looking for but Sally didn’t want Japanese and I don’t eat seafood so we were like why were we trying to find this place in the first place? So then we went back to the main road and found a cute restaurant to eat lunch at.

Sally and I got Lasagna and Patrick got beef tartar. I can’t get past the idea of eating raw meat and a raw egg, it just doesn’t sound healthy to me so I haven’t had tartar. I also had tea which was really good and I decided I miss tea and should try to find it more often. It was very good and we had a nice time talking. The lasagna was delicious and came with a green salad which was very healthy and I decided that I missed salads as well. It was good and a lady sitting next to us that teaches English to foreigners leaned over and started talking to us. She was really nice. Though then we left and ventured a bit in the city. We found a Carrefour where I bought speculoos and smurfs. We also found that they had Reeses! So that was pretty cool to find but we didn’t buy any. It was weird though because they came in a 3 pack. In the states they are in 2’s or 4’s but I have never seen them in 3’s.

Then we left there and went to look at the chalets. They had more of a mix of things for sale but most of them were like food products that you would cook at your house. So we got some hot wine and then called it good. This wine was more alcoholy and winey than the other that I had in Marseille. I didn’t like it as much. But it was okay. Just not as good. Then we called it quits for lunch and went to the Petit Palais for the next part of our Avignon Education.

In here there was a lot more art. We looked at a couple different pieces but most of it was all very similar to me. It was really pretty but I can only look at art for so long until I am like okay great lets go. We looked at a couple different images of Mary holding Christ and then compared them. There was one that I liked a lot and then a picture of Saint Catherine holding a giant sword. Go girl power! It was pretty cool. We looked at the art for quite a while and because there was no glass over the paintings there was a person in each room that would tell us to back up if we went within two feet of any work. So that was a bit annoying. They should just get glass to cover each one… A lot cheaper than paying all these people to sit around in each room.

But whatever! One we were done there, we went to the bridge. There are a lot of supposed facts about the bridge that are all false. Some people think that the bridge has never been completed to reach the other side. This is wrong. The King of France (before France was completely united as the country it is now) once wanted to cross the bridge. But he was denied by the Comte de Provence so he said fine I will just destroy it. So then they rebuilt it again. And then the exact same thing happened like 50 years later. So then they just never rebuilt it again. But now there are plenty of other bridges to it just stays half done on principal because the French Government when it was led by a King once the regions were united was still mad about it so there has since then never been any government money sent to fix it, and now it is a big tourist attraction with the legends that it has never been finished. There is also the rumor that because the river is too deep or too strong that it is impossible to finish it. But that is wrong too because it has been finished. More recently in the 1850’s a song came out called Sur le Pont d’Avignon.

In the song it goes (translated):
On the bridge of Avignon
We all dance there, we all dance there
On the bridge of Avignon
We all dance there in a ring

So naturally when you get on the bridge you have to DANCE! So we went to the end and took pictures (changing the song to jump instead of dance).Then on our way back Sally and I danced the whole way looking like crazies. It was really fun. Then we realized that we were the last ones on the bridge so we ran to catch up with the group. They were just in the gift shop though so it was all good! I bought some post cards which all had the bridge on them and then we were off! We got back on the bus and the other class was already on it! So probably they all saw Sally and I dance on the bridge. But who cares we had fun! The bus left and then had to loop around because we forgot two people. Oops! Then we rode the bus back to Aix.

Week 9 Amsterdam

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Study Abroad

This week consisted of midterms, and many presentations. It was a stressful week! But I got through it and I think I did pretty well on everything. But this weekends trip was to Amsterdam in The Netherlands. IT WAS FREEZING! It was still so warm in Barcelona so it was a shock to have to wear layers of sweaters. The city was beautiful, definitely a metropolitan city. We walked around and went to a cheese museum, the Van Gogh museum, the Heineken experience, and of course the Anne Frank Huis. The Ann Frank Huis was probably my favorite and most enjoyable thing we did over the weekend. I had read the book in class many years ago, but to actually be in the same house where she and her family we’re hiding back going the Holocost was just incredible. I learned so much about her family and I never knew or maybe just didn’t remember, but she ultimately wanted her diary to get published, and even though she didn’t live to see it happen, her father did and her legacy will never be forgotten.

Week 8 – Exploring Barcelona/Granada weekend trip

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Study Abroad

Flamenco Show

This week I went to Parque de la Ciudadela in Barcelona. It’s near the El Born district and was a lot of modern art and natural beauty. The main attraction has here is the zoo, but I didn’t want to pay to go in. Near the zoo’s entrance, the famous climbable gigantic stone mammoth is there, just as the metallic cat in another perimeter of the park. One of my roommates and I just randomly decided to come visit the park one day and I’m glad we did! Also, for a class we went to an up and coming technological neighborhood called Glories and saw the use of old buildings mixed in with the new. It was pretty interesting to see. Not much happened throughout the week, just normal classes and homework.

la alhambra de Granada

On Friday though we had a group trip to Granada which is in southern Spain. The first thing I noticed when we got to our hotel was that there was a huge arabic feel to the area; completely different then Barcelona. We took a hike up to an arab palace built in the 9th century and it was extremely detailed, it was incredible! I don’t know how people so long ago managed to make such precise details. The palace is called La Alahambra de Granada and it has become a huge attraction to the area, for obvious reasons. We also went to a Flamenco show, and Granada is actually where Flamenco was born. Flamenco is a dance with a lot of clapping, spinning, and stomping. It’s one of the most unique thing i’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. Another thing that was cool was that at the bars as long as you order drinks, you get free tapas (food); Which is a definite plus. I have been trying to use spanish more when ordering food or asking for directions, but when the locals notice that my spanish isn’t that good, they tend to just start speaking to me in english and I start speaking it back! Kinda funny actually, but at least I try!

Cathedral De Granada

parc de ciutadella

Torre Agbar

Dachau Concentration Camp

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Study Abroad

So last weekend I had the pleasure of going to Munich, Germany because I wanted to go to a concentration camp from World War II. I think that while that isn’t really a very fun thing to do while I am abroad it is definitely something that I knew I needed to do while I was in Europe.

When we got there the first thing we did was go to the visitor’s center which was outside the actual camp. There we talked inside about some more of the history. They had a cafe there so I got a coke and then felt sort of horrible to be sitting in a cafe with the camp so close by… It just seemed sort of… I don’t know really how to describe it, just knowing so many people a couple hundred feet away starved to death 70 years ago. It was just kind of not a good feeling.

After that we started out. We went and talked about the front gate with the famous work will set you free phrase that you can also find at Auschwitz/Birkeneau. It was originally true because this camp was originally a work camp where you would be released if you did good work. But then after the second and third phase it was just a sick joke. The original barracks have been destroyed but there are two which have been rebuilt with consult from survivors. We went through the entrance of how getting into the camp worked. First you are met by the admin of the camp who tells you that only the devil laughs here and that he is the devil. Then random people are beaten and then you are taken into the maintenance building to be shaved, showered, numbered, and given a uniform. The uniform had pants pockets which you weren’t allowed to use or else you were shot or beaten.

The maintenance building still stands and the paint has been taken back to what it would have been like. It was pretty horrible. The shower room they would also tie the prisoner’s wrists together and then hang them by their wrists with their whole body weight which was really painful and could cause permanent damage. In this camp you weren’t tattooed with your number but rather given it on a piece of cloth. So I guess that was something that they came up with later. There were also some numbers given as to the prisoner count in the camp but we know those numbers now to be a very low guesstimate.

After that we watched a little documentary which was about 3 minutes long with footage of the camp right after liberation. It was pretty sad. Obviously. But it was hard to watch. We also saw a beating table where each SS had to everyday beat a prisoner 25 times. Most of them actually looked forward to this part of their day. But the terrible part was that the prisoner would have to count out each strike in German and if he wavered or slurred it would start back over at one. This wasn’t as bad in the beginning days (as bad… Bad word choice as either way it’s horrible) but as the camp went on and they got polish and Czech prisoners who didn’t speak German it just got worse. Prisoners would have to learn to count to 25 perfectly or else they would be pretty much beaten to death.

After that we went to the Bunker which was where political prisoners that they couldn’t really kill were taken. This was one of the worst places in the camp though because even though you wouldn’t be killed, you would be tortured. They had over 70 little rooms where the prisoners lived which each had toilets and a heater furnace. The switch for these heaters was on the outside of the cell. In the winter it would get to be like -20 degrees outside and because the building was made of just concrete the cells would get really cold. So whether you were well behaved or liked would determine whether your heater was turned on or not. They also would turn the on in the middle of summer when it was blistering hot. Pretty horrible. They also had some cells which were called standing cells where they divided the already closet size room into six and then made them shorter so that you had to hunch to stay standing. There wasn’t enough room to sit or to stand straight and prisoners would be left in there for up to 72 hours. It sounds horrible. Also they cut most of the rooms in half so that you couldn’t stand or sit, and most of the cells were black. Some had windows, which just let more cold in. The guards would run up and down the halls all the time and threaten the prisoners. Pretty scary stuff. There was a little portable alter which could be put in different rooms of the higher up political prisoners here so that was kind of nice. Mostly prisoners here were like Austrian Princes and more known people that the government just couldn’t kill. It was pretty terrible.

Then we went outside and saw the two memorial statues that have been put up by the Maintenance building. One is a sort of warped human body sculpture which also looks like barbed wire. The other was a chain that was made with the different triangles and stars the prisoners wore. This sculpture still misses the green triangle, pink triangle for homosexuals, and the black triangle for asexuals or pretty much anyone who didn’t fit in society’s box. This would include beggars, hermits, and gypsies. These are missing because in the 60’s when it was put in, it was still illegal to be a homosexual so they are still missing. I think it is pretty sad that lessons weren’t learned from the holocaust and that those are still not included.

After that we walked across the big space used for roll call which was probably a bit bigger than a football field, to get to the model bunkers. The first room showed what the beds were like in the first phase where each prisoner had a separate bunk with a shelf. The shelf was to be a constant reminder that they had nothing to put on their shelf. They also had mattresses made with straw which every morning had to be made in perfect rectangles with their blankets stretching down the line with perfect stripes that matched up from one bed to the next. This was pretty hard to do so there were special people that were in charge of doing it. If it wasn’t perfect everyone would be punished. There were also wooden benches where the prisoners could sit before bed. Next was an example of beds from the second phase where there were no partitions between beds and also no sides on the beds. There were also no benches. Lastly was the room from the third phase on where there were just a top, bottom, and middle bunk with no breaks or anything. I don’t think they had straw mattresses on the last two phases. It didn’t look like they did anyways. There was also a bathroom where the toilets all faced each other and a really inadequate wash room with two fountains like sinks. It was pretty horrible. There were like 8 toilets for four rooms of prisoners. Each which had like over a two hundred people in them at minimum. It was pretty horrible. There was an example of a call for that bunker which showed that at minimum there was 800 something people and on that sheet the max was 2800 people. We know that number now to be a low number for the camp.

The prisoners would get 3 rations of soup per day which was really just water with a few vegetables (if you were lucky) in addition to a small pieces of bread which would need to last you all day. There was a debate in the camp whether it was better to save it to last all day or to eat it all at once to feel full.

After the barracks we went down the line of where the barracks were to get to the shrines. There were over 25 barracks. The outlines of the foundation are still here and now are marked with each barracks number. At the end of the line there are four shrines that have since liberation been put up. There is one for Catholics, Jewish, Protestant, and Russian Orthodox. The protestant one looks all wonky which was their way of saying screw you to the Nazis who made the camp with perfect angles and stuff like that. There are still the authentic guard towers and such though the fences have mostly been redone with the exception of one section which has stayed intact to show the area on the outsides of the camp. So first there was a grass section which if you were seen on you would be promptly shot and considered to be trying to escape. The SS would sometimes take a prisoners hat and throw it on the grass and tell them to go get it. If they did they were shot and if they didn’t they were shot for refusing orders. Pretty messed up… But if you got through the grass you had to go down and back up a canal. After which were rocks and barbed wire, after which was the barbed wire fence, then a river stream, and then after that if they survived they found themselves in the SS School of Terror. Needless to say, no one ever escaped after the first phase. Only one person is known to have escaped but then he fought in the war and died so we don’t know how he did it.

After that we crossed a bridge which did not exist at the time but has now been added, and went to see the crematoriums and gas chamber. These were definitely used but it is still unknown as to what extent. The first crematorium one had two opening to put in bodies. It is low ball estimated to have been used for 11,000 people. Low. I cannot even imagine. Later a second one was made which also included a gas chamber. It was so emotional to see and walk through. The “shower room” had 30 shower heads of which only one remains. The poison crystals were put in on the sides after the doors were locked. These would take anywhere between 3-30 minutes to take effect as they would react from the heat. It was pretty terrible. The room was very short and not very big. We know that the gas chamber was one of the later ones added as it has outward opening doors. Next to this room were two chambers where they would pile the corpses before burning them. The new crematorium had four oven openings and the smoke would be cycled underground and then out of the chimney. Behind this building which is surprisingly small for the terror it caused, are now memorials for the dead. There were many mass graves for the ashes from the crematoriums. It is impossible to tell they say by the remains of the ash how many people were victims to this but it is presumed to have been a lot.

This camp was one of the final ones to be liberated and is one of the longest standing. The people in the surrounding were well aware of the camps existence but operated under a don’t ask, don’t tell policy when it came to what actually happened within the camp. The Nazis even went so far in the early days as to publish photos of the prisoners on the cover of a Munich magazine. The public of Munich was well informed about the prisoners as they were not trained directly to the camp but rather to Munich where they were then paraded through the city while the public was encouraged to throw things, beat, insult, and attack the prisoners. They were shown to the public as ” the criminals who wanted to see Germany burn to the ground”. The atrocities at this camp cannot be duplicated and I present this blog to you in such detail so that you as well will remember what happened and will help ensure that this doesn’t happen again in the future, though it is already happening in other countries right now. The holocaust was the cause of losing one third of the world’s Jewish population. Though I am not a Jew, I do believe it is wrong to prosecute those of other religions solely based on this fact. It is important for all of us to remember the events that led to this discrimination and watch for the beginning signs of this behavior in the life around us. This kind of hatred for other people didn’t happen overnight but was based on a growing discrimination.

The Aix Cathedral/ Living in Aix

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Study Abroad

Today I woke up at 7:45 and unfortunately had to drag myself out of bed. I was still really tired so I don’t know if I am just worn out or if I am fighting to not be sick or what. But it was really hard to drag myself out of my warm bed and into the cold of the world. I ate some breakfast and as it got closer to eight I decided I was in the clear to shower. I know now I can’t shower at night but I have never thought about the morning and whether it has been okay. I figured though that if they can bang nails next door then I can shower. So I waited until 8. I took a quick one and am already missing the hotel shower… That is something I am wishing I had…

I got all my stuff together and (after getting dressed) went off to school. I put my laptop in my locker and then ran upstairs to get my mail. I have been expecting a letter from Thad but I also found an orange envelope from the family. I happily put them in my bag and headed to the cathedral which is where my class was meeting again today. It was rainy but I found a dry spot to sit and read my letters. I opened the one from my family and it was a Halloween card. It was nice. I was glad to get it. Then I opened my letter from Thad which he had sent a few days before break so I have known it would be there when I got back. This is nice to get because I haven’t really gotten to talk to him in over a week… Hopefully tomorrow… I miss him…

Then we went into the Cathedral for class and looked and talked about the naives and the cloister. It was cool and kind of interesting but less cool than the last time that we went to the cathedral. This time we spent most of our time talking about the different architectural things and the names of them. It was more boring because of that but I did learn some cool things such as that in the gothic period was when they started doing the big stained glass windows because before that the arcs that they were making were so heavy that if they put a window in the arc would fall because it wouldn’t be supported well enough. That was a bit of a cool fact and made a lot of sense to me.

The cloister was really pretty and was made of a square of columns that used parts of old gravestones and older elements of stone. It was kind of cool and each side of the square of columns signified something different. There was the Old Testament, the New Testament, the early history of the church, and the history of this church specifically in the 12^th century when the cathedral was done or added onto.

After class I went to grab a baguette because I was really hungry. I went to my locker and grabbed my laptop and then went down to the cave. Cassandra was there so I talked to her a bit about our breaks and she gave me a muffin that was really delicious but very crumbly. She went to Germany to see a friend. I pawned off my gross smelling soap to her. It isn’t really gross just too unfamiliar to me so every time I smell it on myself I get confused. So I am going to buy something more familiar. After a while she went to class and I watched some of Spencer’s videos. I tried to buy a hot chocolate from the machine but it was out of powder so all I got was hot water… I put a sticky note up so no one else would experience my disappointment, of not getting a hot chocolate on a rainy day. I also put a bunch of photos up on Facebook of Barcelona and added a bunch to my Paris blog posts. I didn’t get to putting them on my Barcelona posts but that is a task for tomorrow or another day. But today I did that until Cassandra got done with class at 2 and we went to find her some food. I wasn’t hungry after my baguette… oops I ate the whole thing. But you can do that in France no problem or judging! (That’s why I like France!) But we walked to the pasta place and I ran into Monopo to get a bottle of water. The water in the not very cold cooler is 1.75 but upstairs for three times as much water that is virtually just as cold is 61 cents. That’s something they don’t tell tourists but you have to figure out for yourself. We went to her pasta place and she got pasta and I got speculoos tiramisu. It was really delicious but less creamy and thicker from the last time I had it.

After that we went back to the school and she started eating gummies she got from Germany. They were really good but like the most random shapes. There were bears, churches, hearts, guns, diamonds, dots, and oranges all in the same bag, talk about a really weird mix of shapes! They were very delicious though. We hung out in the cave while I did some homework for my next class. Then Jonny came in just as I was leaving and I asked if he was doing anything this weekend because it is a three day weekend with Armistice Day (Same as the street I live on!). I was thinking maybe I could figure out something for me and that group to do after some of us get back on Saturday night. But that was just a little idea. I had to run to class.

We got our midterms back today and I did pretty badly… I got a D+ but with the curve a C. So… yeah not so good. But luckily I was kind of pegging myself there so it really wasn’t a surprise. I knew I hadn’t done too well. And again it was the stupid verb tenses! I am going to have to ask her about that because it really is my biggest problem in French. I know lots of vocabulary and how to make the verb tenses but don’t understand their English equivalencies or how to tell which to use. So that’s a problem… We corrected the test and once we started I did really well at guessing what it should be and such. I think it was just a bad combination of the break coming up and having used all my brain power on the midterm that day before this one and then not thinking very clearly. So that is my excuse… I just wish the grades didn’t affect my WOU GPA because that is really going to affect my scholarships so I don’t know what I am going to do. They grade much harsher here and almost no one gets A’s. The rest of the class was calm though because there were only 5 of us today because three of the others were absent. A lot of people’s parents and stuff are here because of the break. I wish my peoples were here because of the break…

I am really homesick right now probably because I just did all the cool stuff I have really wanted to do and now am like okay time to leave! Or I know that there are only 6 weeks left and now I am like okay time to be done! Or maybe I just miss talking to people I really know… In any case I am homesick again. It seems to be a thing though as other people are saying the same thing. Also maybe because everyone’s parents are here…

Over the break I have heard that a lot of people got their stuff stolen, their bank cards eaten by ATM’s, and losing their passports and iPhones. I am very glad that none of these things happened to me. I wonder how like careful some of these people were being though… Some seem not the type who would even think of a backup plan. I however had a back up bank card in my luggage and another on my person. Also I didn’t bring my passport but a photo copy. So go me?

I came home and was unlocking the door just as Madame opened it. She asked if I had work and I said no so she said go se Paul and I will be back in a minute. I went upstairs and Jean-Claude and Laurence were there with Paul too. He lost another tooth. Also Laurence has been sick. But sick to a French person is like… a cold. So we stayed and had chips and red wine down there and talked about my trips and Paul went crazy as normal. He showed me his Halloween costume and their apartment was decorated for it. It was fun and enjoyable. Then Paul started to get too crazy so we came back upstairs for dinner. Paul ran up and stayed for a few minutes before Madame kicked him out.

For dinner we had a VERY delicious minestrone soup with vegetables! It was VERY good I really liked it. We had bread and cheese. Madame bought a huge Camembert because she knows I like it. Not I feel obligated to eat lots of it. Oh darn… Then we had ice cream bars and watched I don’t even know what on TV until she got tired and went to sleep and I stayed up to finish my blog and talk to dad! 🙂

OH! I almost forgot. At dinner Madame asked if I wanted to go to another family birthday for Elise and Matisse in Orange on Sunday and Return Monday Morning. So that is the plan for my weekend after my class trip! It’s at Madame’s ex-husbands house. Should be fun!

Week 7 ITALY!

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Study Abroad

This week I explored Plaza Espanya and shopping inside a mall that used to be a bull flighting ring, since its been deemed illegal in Barcelona and other parts of Spain (for animal cruelty reasons) its amazing how they used something old to make something new. I also went to Italy a Thursday-Sunday this week and it was everything i’d hoped it would be and more. I was in Venice just for a day but I rode in a gondola in the canals, ate amazing food, and toured the city center. The rest of my trip was spent in Rome. Rome is the opposite of Venice, much busier and more lively. I visited the colosseum, saw roman ruins, went to Vatican city and went inside the Sixtine chapel which was painted by Michael Angelo and was breath taking. My favorite part was probably seeing the Trevi fountain. It was beautiful and of course I made a wish.

Trevi Fountain in Rome

Vatican City

Gondola ride in Venice

Week 6 in Barcelona

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Study Abroad

I did a lot this week around Barcelona and Spain. I went to Girona on Sunday, we took the train and it was about an 2 hour ride which wasn’t too bad. The only part that was hard was being in time to make the 830 am train! We visited a jewish museum which was pretty interesting, and ate at a catalan restaurant and fell in love with catalan crema! SO GOOD. This city had a lot of roman ruins, it had a huge roman wall that spanned for miles and miles and myself and the group I went with all climbed it and the views were incredible. Later in the week I visited Parc Guell for the second time, I love it there! Gaudi a famous artist in Barcelona and the park is filled with his work/architect. I also fell in love with a Mexican restaurant here in Barcelona, it’s called Rosa Negra and they have amazing authentic tasting Mexican food! It reminded me of home, and made me miss the food we have!

Catalan Crema

Girona, Spain

Park Guell/City view of Barcelona

Week 5

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Study Abroad

This week I went to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany for the weekend! It was an amazing experience and I definitely want to go back again someday. I ate a lot of good food and it was nice to have something other than traditional spanish food can’t lie. Barcelona doesn’t have a huge variety of foods in my opinion. I miss the food options back home! I also visited a huge indoor market in the city center of Barcelona, they had EVERYTHING! I even found my favorite american hot sauce, I was very pleased about that. School is going well, it’s harder to focus on my classes and homework while being in Barcelona and traveling! But i’m still doing well, just have to keep my priorities straight.

Munich, Germany at Oktoberfest

Palais Garnier

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Study Abroad

So while I was in Paris for my fall break I literally went to one of the most beautiful places in the world. I went to the Paris Opera house which is formally called the Palais Garnier. It was built in 1861 to 1875. I was able to take a tour through it thanks to this cool pass I bought for my trip called the Paris Pass which was a really good investment because it allowed me to skip the lines of monuments and get into a bunch of museums and monuments for free. It ended up being worth the heavy charge at the beginning because it made the whole trip in Paris really easy and less stressful because we had so any options open to us.

We took our tour in English with a tour guide lady who was actually dutch. I really liked her and she made the tour really fun and gave us some cool facts that I would not have known from just walking around the building by myself. She also pointed out some hidden elements that I wouldn’t have seen on my own.

We first got there and entered into a big room with a really cool looking and ornate ceiling. It was a little dark but very nice. Our tour guide told us that we had entered through the doors of the entrance reserved for the King of France and that we were now by the entrance where the rich nobles entered. She told us that when people got to the opera house they didn’t look at each other until they had formally entered a few rooms ahead. This was in order to make sure you had time to check yourself and be sure you looked perfect before being seen by everyone. The idea was that if you didn’t look at anyone and they didn’t look at you, that no one would see each other before they all looked perfect. She told us that this was the thirteenth opera house that was built and that we couldn’t visit any of the other ones because they had all burned down because they were made of wood. They would typically take 5 years to make and then because they were made of wood and used candles for lighting up the rooms at night, they would burn down within 1-2 years. That made me laugh but it totally made sense.

It was actually a competition to determine who would be the architect for this Paris Opera house and over 200 people submitted designs and models for Napoleon the third. It was Napoleons wife who got to choose our guide told us and when she saw the design by Charles Garnier she thought it was the most hideous building ever because he didn’t use a known style. So she made him come see her and she was like, “what the heck is this syle?” And he was like, “oh it’s a new style called Napoleon Trois” So then she had to pick it because it was named after her husband.

It was really funny though because the architect thought that he was going to be forgotten so he actually hid a bunch of his own elements in the architecture of the building. For example on one of the ceilings he has his name spelled out and in the Grand Foyer (gold room), there are 8 busts of his head as lamps which when people saw them criticized him but he told them that they were just the busts of Apollo. He told everyone it was a compliment that he looked like the busts of Apollo. The entire theater actually has the theme of Apollo and a Lyre throughout the building.

He wasn’t far off though in thinking that he would be forgotten because there was a transfer of power while the Opera house was being built and all work on the building came to a halt during the Franco-Prussian War due to the siege of Paris. The new government of the Third Republic maintained an intense dislike of all things associated with the Second Empire, and many of them wanted to replace Garnier as the architect for the building. Economies were demanded, and Garnier was forced to suppress the completion of sections of the building. But then because the other theater in Paris was destroyed by a fire overnight there was a resurgence of support to finish the building. The theatre was formally inaugurated on 5 January 1875 with a lavish gala performance, which Garnier wasn’t invited to at first. Then upon hearing this the public was outraged and support for the political leader Adolphe Thiers who was in charge fell so in order to gain it back he sent a letter of invitation to join provided that Garnier could pay for his seat which they made sure was ridiculously expensive. So Garnier didn’t actually get to go to his own designs debut. I thought that was pretty sad. He did go later once things calmed down but he wasn’t able to go and see everyone’s reactions to it for the first time.

While we were there a prinicipal performer for the current production was there so when we went in to see the inside of the Opera theater she was practicing ballet onstage. Now this building is used mostly for ballet and there is another building in Paris where Opera and Plays are done. Our guide told us that there is no seat number 13 in the theater because once a lamp fell on the woman sitting in that seat and she died. Over time though the story has changed to a man and he still haunts the theater as the Phantom of the Opera. Yep! This is the real Opera house of the Phantom! Our guide also told us that it is true that there is a lake below the Opera house and that it is still accessible but that you have to have lots of clearance and such. But that the water was kind of a hassle during the construction of the building but they wanted to have it close in case of fires.

It was by far the most beautiful building that I have ever been in and it was really cool to see in person. I was glad that my friend and I on a whim decided to go there because it will probably stay one of my favorite places in Paris because of my love for theatre. One other little known fact is that it is at this Opera house that the idea of Macaroons came about because they were bit sized and wouldn’t ruin ladies gloves!

week 4

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Study Abroad

This week I did A LOT. It was a holiday called La Merce and there were free concerts at the beach and parades all around the city. I visited Labyrinth Park which was so cool, different then anything i’ve seen in the states. The coolest and most exciting thing that happened was participating in the “dragon run”. Which is when people masked and dressed in all black have sticks with firework works shooting out will run through the crowds and people even go towards them and go into the fireworks! There were sparks flying everywhere, I wasn’t exactly prepared for it. I got a few burns on my arm but nothing too serious. Overall, it was so fun and something that I am so glad that I got to be apart of.

Maze at Labyrinth park in Barcelona

Dragon run during La Merce

WOU Students Abroad

Author Archives: Study Abroad