Happy 2010!

I am VERY excited for this brand new year!  But first, some old 2009 news:

Temple Football lost the EagleBank bowl game against UCLA, but they did have a respectable showing score-wise.  It was a very exciting game down in DC in historical RFK stadium (former Redskins stadium) and it was absolutely FREEZING!  But overall, the trip to DC was really nice because the whole band got to spend about 3 days there with lots of free time.  Some friends and I checked out all the historical monuments and sites and also went to the Holocaust Museum, which was very moving and interesting.  Ashley and her brother Jim also came down for the Bowl game so we got to hang out in DC that night.  The next day, the 3 of us all checked out the Museum of Crime and Punishment, which was probably the best $17 I’ve ever spent!  It was SO cool.  They had everything from medieval torture instruments, to info on all types of bank robbers like Bonnie & Clyde, all the “Public Enemies” from the 1930s, the mafia, and even present-day criminals from America’s 100 Most Wanted People.  It was seriously awesome!!

RFK Stadium

Andrew, Greg, Sara, and I in back of the White House

Me in back of the White House

Andrew, Me, Sara, and Greg in front of the Abe Lincoln Memorial

Front of the White House at night

Washington Monument

Washington Monument and the Capitol in the distance

Look who's in the lineup! Recognize anyone...?

Reading up on some famous prisons in the US like Alcatraz, Rikers, and Eastern State

Opening a door in the morgue...creeepy!

After 3 well spent days in DC, we drove back up to Philly for New Year’s Eve and Day.  This year I had a pretty low-key New Year’s but it was definitely the best New Year’s Eve and Day that I’ve ever had!  It was a lot of fun for sure.  We also got to see a little bit of the annual Mummer’s Day Parade since it literally passed by 4 blocks from my house!  Pretty cool.

On January 2nd, Temple Men’s Basketball played the #1 ranked team in the nation, Kansas.  It was a good game, but Temple just couldn’t catch a break and ended up losing by 30+ points.  But I did, however, make it onto national tv on ESPN!  Only for about 2.5 seconds though, haha.  But here is the picture:

Me and some surrounding trumpet players on ESPN!

Ashley & I  had her 2 little cousins up for the day/night.  They came out to the Temple game to support the Owls in their game against Kansas.  Afterward, we took them out to Spaghetti Warehouse.  We ate in the trolley car so the kids loved that and we played some race car games and the claw machine afterward.  It was fun!  The next morning we made breakfast and showed the kids Love Park and the new Comcast building and took lots of pictures.  Then we drove down to Delaware to drop them off and hang out at their house since their mom was having an Eagles party.  It was a lot of fun until the Eagles got shut out by the Cowboys 24-0.  I don’t want to talk about this anymore.  I’m feeling a little too much defeat from the past couple days.

Me with Ash's little cousins Jonathan and Lauren

Now it’s back to life, back to reality.  Back to work!!  I’m looking forward to the Men’s basketball game against St. Joe’s this upcoming Wednesday night.  More to come soon!!

Temple Football is going bOWLing!

EagleBank Bowl here we come!  Come support our Temple Owls in DC on December 29th at 4:30pm in RFK Stadium!  Temple Football hasn’t made a bowl appearance since 1979.  This is going down in history!!  I’m so excited to go with the band..and at no cost!  We’ll be staying in downtown DC with lots of free time.  I can’t wait.

Also, tomorrow is the last day of classes!!  WOO!  My last Fall semester as an Undergrad.  Crazy… This semester has been dragging on and on..and needs to be over stat!  I only have 2 finals but I still have 2 more papers due next week.  I feel like I have so much to do, what with buying Christmas presents, finishing up school work, and applying to grad school.  I’m looking forward to a much needed Winter Break.  I don’t even mind working full time during the break since I could use the money.  Not too much else is going on.  I will certainly post pictures from the holidays and the Bowl game in DC!

Happy Holidays all!

Thanksgiving…the best holiday there is!

I cannot express how excited I am for Thanksgiving to come!  I’ve been pretty busy lately — I have 2 research papers left to do, a French paper, a paper for Death and Dying, and a final political science paper.  Needless to say, I’m buried in work and cannot wait for Thanksgiving Break.  Only one more day left to go!  I’m looking forward to going out on Wednesday night with my high school friends.  Every year, my high school (Upper Darby HS) has a football game against Haverford HS on Thanksgiving morning.  It’s also known for being the alumni game of the year…where I get to see all my friends from high school and former teachers.  Afterward, I always have dinner with my family.  Then there’s BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING!  That’s right — my mom and I are some of those crazies who go out at 4am to shop.  It’s a tradition and I love doing it every year!  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because there’s always good food, good family and friends, and good football!  It’s not overly commercialized or mass-marketed.  There’s no stress involved.  My biggest pet peeve?  When my holiday gets overshadowed by people who decorate for Christmas and play Christmas music before Thanksgiving even takes place!  It’s not fair   But alas, I’m still looking forward to the best holiday of the year.

In other news, Temple Football just won their 9th consecutive win this past Saturday against Kent State, making Temple’s overall record 9-2!!! HOLY COW!  I cannot explain how exciting of a time this is for Temple students!  I personally am very excited because it’s been so long since Temple Football has been bowl-eligible and since we’ve had such a good record.  As of now, if Temple beats Ohio University this Friday night, then they’re going to the MAC Championship on December 4th in Detroit!  This also means that the band will travel with the team — so I’m super excited!  But mostly, I’m holding out hope that Temple gets invited to the International Bowl in Toronto in January!  I would love that –  I’ve never been to Canada!  Either way, I’ll be sure to post more updates as soon as I find out!  Keep your fingers crossed for Temple Football

Also, I posted a video in one of my previous posts of Temple’s Diamond Marching Band playing Sum 41’s Fat Lip, with rapping and dancing!  We just found out the other day that Sum 41 posted our video on their official website!!  How cool is that!?!  Check out their website: http://www.islandrecords.com/site/artist_home.php?artist_id=259.  The video is right on their homepage!!!!  Props to us!!  If you don’t feel like it, I’m copying the video below this paragraph so you can see it!  The video is from the Temple vs. Navy game in Annapolis, MD.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Philadelphia Phillies are going to the World Series…again!

Last night, the Philadelphia Phillies, for the second consecutive year, clinched the National League Championship and are advancing to the World Series!!  WOOOOOO!!!  Last night was awesome!  Everyone ran out to Broad Street, yelling, lighting fireworks, rioting…you name it!  It’s one of the best feelings in the world — everyone around you feeling great and celebrating a huge victory once again over the Los Angeles Dodgers.  The riots this year weren’t as bad as last year — this year, Philly cops were prepared!  They brought in State troopers, every cop not only had their baton and handgun, but they also had tazer guns!  They brought and entire bike fleet and lined the streets.  Everyone was having such a great time…and no one around me got arrested at least!  I did, however, see someone jump on a car on Broad St and then jump on the back windshield of the car and it smashed EVERYWHERE!  Pretty crazy stuff.  I took some pictures on my cell phone that I will upload on here so you can see the craziness.

I can’t WAIT for the first game of the World Series next Wednesday!!!  It’s pretty unlikely at this point that the LA Angels will win, but I’m still holding out hope….or else, it’s going to be an East coast THROWDOWN!  Let’s go PHILS!!!

Not much else going on otherwise.  I just registered for my last semester of classes at Temple – how sad is that?  I do have a pretty sweet schedule though.  I’m finishing my French major and my Political Science minor, but I also had room to take some fun classes as well!  I’m taking Personal Defense for Women and Gay and Lesbian lives.  I’m pretty pumped about both classes!  As far as band goes, basketball band is starting up next week as well…aka my favorite time of the year!  Our football team is also doing very well, with a 4-2 overall record.  Apparently, Temple only needs 6 wins to be eligible for a bowl game, and Temple Football was predicted to go to the International Bowl in Toronto!  Obviously the band would travel with the team.  But right now, I’m not getting my hopes up until we know for sure!  I’ll keep you posted.  More to come later…

LET’S GO PHILS!!!

-Monica

Some dude who climbed a pole to wave a Phillies flag around that had a firework going off at the top of it!

City Hall madness

craziness

RIOT!

Crowdsurfing. I love Philly.

More crowdsurfing!

Singing "Oleyyyy oley oley oleyyyyyy"

Crowdsurfing bikes...haha

All the Po Po ready!

They even brought in State Troopers.

The police bike fleet in action! They were prepared, to say the least.

Homecoming 2009!

This week is Temple’s annual Homecoming Week.  It should be a lot of fun!  Each year, different offices all over campus decorate desks, lobbies, and walls with Temple stuff for a decoration contest.  Last year, the Welcome Center (where I work) was a winner!!  I always look forward to helping out because I love Temple and have tons of school spirit.  Apparently the Homecoming concert this year features Lupe Fiasco and Asher Roth.  I’m personally not going, but it sounds like it should be fun.  I’m mostly excited for the Homecoming game on Saturday vs. Army!  Temple Football is now 3-0 in the MAC!!  GO OWLS!!!  I have a video from this past weekend when the Diamond Marching Band played Sum 41’s Fat Lip at a nearby high school’s band show.  We were just there as exhibition, but it was still cool to have lots of high schools see  Temple’s band. 

Otherwise, not much else to report.  Just super busy with classes and papers and homework and trying to have a social life, haha.  I’m looking forward to Halloween though!  I love dressing up as something crazy and going out with friends.  I’ll keep you posted as to what my costume will be this year   more to come!

Cheers!

 

Temple’s Diamond Marching Band plays “Fat Lip” by Sum 41 at Pennsbury HS

Senior Year Already?! Time flies…

I can’t believe I’m already a few weeks into my senior year of college!  I remember starting as a freshman like it was yesterday.  I also still can’t believe I’m in the US and not in France   I’m starting to apply to grad school in just a couple of weeks — I am so excited!  I’m trying to go to Middlebury, in Vermont, which is one of the best schools in the nation for foreign language.  They are known for their intensive Language Pledge, in which students pledge to only speak the language they are studying for an intense 6 weeks.  Students have the option to complete their M.A. several different ways — but the option I would like to do is the 6-week intensive program in Middlebury and then the academic year abroad in Paris (September-June).  It has my name written all over it!  More updates on that later.

This semester I’m taking some pretty interesting classes.  I love them all!  I’m taking one of my final French classes, French Women’s and Francophone Writings.  We’re reading 8 mini books and so far I like them!  In Spanish, I’m taking Hispanic Readings and Conversational Review.  Both of my professors are native speakers — which is a HUGE plus!  One professor is from Argentina and the other is from Spain.  Then for political science, I’m taking American Presidency and Politics of Identity, both very cool classes with very smart professors.  And last but not least, to fulfill my last writing intensive requirement at Temple, I’m taking the popular Death and Dying class at the Center City campus, called TUCC.  My first paper for it is due in 2 days on psychology.  Overall though, I’m loving all of my classes!

In other news, the next Temple home football game is this Saturday against Buffalo!  We’re playing music from 1979 because Temple Football is inviting the 1979 bowl members back to watch the game, etc.  We’re playing Earth, Wind, and Fire’s September, My Sharona, and then Styx’s Renegade.  It should be pretty good!  Our first show at the first game was an alternative-themed show.  I believe we’re going back to the show for the game after next.  We played Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance, Can’t Stop by Maroon 5, and closed with Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes.  When we return to the show next month, we’ll be adding on Fat Lip by Sum41.

Here are a few videos from the first performance at the football game:

That’s all I’ve got for now.  More updates to come!!

-Monica

reverse culture shock: back in the US

So… I haven’t updated in forever.  As I’m sure you can imagine, I just got caught up with everything so I didn’t have much time to blog!  Since Prague (which feels like so long ago), I’ve been to lots of other cities and done some pretty cool things….and I also returned home, with mixed emotions.  The first 2 weeks back were nice since I was able to catch up with some family and friends (and celebrate my 21st birthday States-style), but after that it finally hit me: 

I’m no longer in Paris.

I’m back to the grind now..working the same job as the last 2 summers at Temple.  I still love it!  But nothing is the same.  I feel like a different person than when I left.  I mean, I’m still the same MONICA as before…but I feel like I see things and the world through a different light now.  A better light, a more understanding light.  I love Europe so much..and I miss it so much.  It’s going to be hard for others to understand who haven’t experienced something similar.  I’m sure people won’t want to continue hearing about all my stories and adventures, haha.  But all good things come to an end, right?

So after Prague, I went on my Spring Break which was 16 days long!  Matt (from my program) and I backpacked through Italy for the first week together.  We landed in Rome and spent a couple days there, then took a train to Florence and spent a few days there.  After that, we took a day trip to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower, and then took a train to Milan and stayed there for a day.  Then finally we took a train to Venice and spent a couple days there.  Italy was absolutely gorgeous.  I’ve never had such good pizza and gnocchi and gelato.  It was so delicious.  After our week in Italy, Matt went to England and Scotland and I left for Barcelona, where I spent a week with Ashley and her friends there.  Barcelona was one of the COOLEST places I’ve ever been.  There are mountains surrounding one side of the city and the Mediterranean surrounding the other side.  Just gorgeous…and everyone was friendly and so laid back and chill.  Much much different from Paris, but I loved it!!  It’s second in my top 5 favorite cities…right after Paris of course

Me in front of the Colosseum in Rome

Roman Forum

The best Pizza on Earth!

Colosseum @ night!

On top of the duomo in Florence

Ponte Vecchio...famous bridge in Florence

typical picture..holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa!

Duomo in Milan - my favorite of them all!

gondola in Venice

St. Mark's Square

Ponte Rialto..famous bridge in Venice

trying spanish tapas for the first time in Barcelona!

Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

Parc Guell

group shot at the fountain show in Barcelona

After Barca, I flew back to Paris and had a week of class then traveled to London for a long weekend.  We took the Chunnel (Eurostar)!!!  It was so fast!!  About a 2 hr train ride and we were only under the Channel for about 20 minutes.  London was also one of my favorite places.  I went with Alexa and Rosy from my program and we stayed right by the train station, King’s Cross/St. Pancras.  London was amazing!  I had THE best Indian food there…best curry chicken & samosas ever!  We saw all the major sights, plus we took a really cool day trip that was totally worth it (about 35 pounds) to Windsor Castle, Bath, and Stonehenge!  I think I met the friendliest people there, too.  And I really loved the London Underground

In the London Underground

:)

London Bridge!

posing with a guard at Windsor Castle

jumping pic at Stonehenge!

crossing Abbey Road with Rosy & Alexa

in a souvenir shop in Piccadilly Circus

Me with the London Eye at night

Big Ben at night!

Then I returned back to Paris and had another week of class and then took a weekend trip to Berlin and met up with Ashley!  We took the free walking tour and had a really funny tour guide, Summer Banks.  We also both bought Birkenstocks, which by the way, are SO much cheaper in Germany than in the US!  We had some good beer and some good currywurst, too   Berlin was also in my top 5 cities — it just has so much history…the Berlin Wall, Hitler’s bunker, etc.  It also has the coolest street art ever.  Every corner you turn there is street art on the walls of buildings and on sidewalks, etc.  It was awesome!

Ash and Me at the Berlin Wall

TV Tower in Berlin

Berlin Cathedral

Brandenburg Gate at night

Inside the Reichstag looking down at all the seats

The next weekend I spent my last weekend in Paris just doing all the things I enjoy doing..walking the streets, getting crêpes, sitting in the beautiful gardens and people-watching, and visiting some places that I hadn’t been before.  It was a nice relaxing weekend…and a bittersweet one as well.  Then the following week I prepared for my finals and actually took my huge (3 hour!) final on Saturday, May 23rd, aka my 21st birthday.  As soon as we were finished, a few of my friends and I went to Maoz to get falafels and then I took a 5 hr train ride to Amsterdam to meet my friends for the weekend!  I had an amazing time… we also saw Anne Frank’s house where and her family hid during WWII and went to the Heineken Experience to see how they brew their beer!  Definitely a fun time.  Then Ash and I returned to Paris where we spent a week of sightseeing and hanging out.  It was fun seeing everything for the last time and for the first time for Ashley.  My last night in Paris we spent on the Champ de Mars where we had a bottle of wine from Bordeaux and watched the Eiffel Tower and laid out on a blanket.  It was such a good way to end my experience in Paris.

Brewing beer at the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam!

beautiful canals in Amsterdam

Ash and Me in the 'm' of the I amsterdam structure

hehe, a big dutch wooden shoe!

After our week in Paris, we flew to Athens and spent a few days there with a friend of my Aunt Sheila.  His name is Kostas (so greek!).  We walked all around, went to the National Museum of Archaeology, climbed the acropolis and Mt. Lykabettos, and saw the Parthenon.  We also visited Sounio, which is the southernmost point of Attica to see the Temple of Poseidon.  Athens wasn’t one of my favorite cities — but it had amazing sights and history.  After our few days in Athens were up, we took a TINY (like 40 people)  flight to the island of Kythira in Greece, where my Aunt Sheila and Uncle Panayotis live.  The flight was only 40 minutes long.  We could have taken the ferry, but that was a 6 hour journey.  So we spent a week there visiting my Aunt and Uncle and staying in their home.  Greece was BEAUTIFUL….the beaches were unbelievable and I ate the best food the whole time.  THE BEST FETA CHEESE IN THE WORLD!  We had gyros, souvlaki, baklava, and paximadi!  By the end of the week though,  I was all traveled out and ready to head back to the US.  By that point, I had been in Europe for 4+ months!

typical greek homes

Theater of Dionysus, climbing up the Acropolis

Ash and I at the Acropolis

the Parthenon!

view of Athens from Mt. Lykabettos

the Temple of Poseidon in Sounio

Aunt Sheila & Uncle Panayotis' home in Fratsia, Kythira

Kapsali...the most beautiful beach ever!!

Me, Uncle Panayotis, and Aunt Sheila

Ash, Me, and Aunt Sheila's 2 neighbors..who are Kostas' parents!

Me, Uncle Panayotis, & Ash

Ash and Me in our shades

Anyway, so I’m 21 now and back in the US of A.  As if celebrating my 21st in Amsterdam wasn’t enough, I celebrated with friends and family the week I got back at Chickie’s and Pete’s.  What a fun night that was!!  It was good seeing some people and it was a lot of fun because turning 21 in Europe just isn’t the same!  This Friday Ash and I are going to the Phils game (we’re playing the Mets!!), which was her bday present to me!  I’m so excited!  Then we’re heading down to her beach house in Rehoboth with Ash’s friend from HS, Denise, and the rest of Ash’s family.  I cannot wait to be on the beach and set off fireworks for the 4th of July!!  I really  hope we have great weather.

That’s all I’ve got for now…I still can’t believe I’m home and that I just spent the last 4 months in Europe.  It feels so surreal.

-Monica

Praha, Česká Republika!

This past weekend I went to Prague with 2 of my roommates, Krystal and Kassie, and it was AWESOME!  It was my first time in Eastern Europe and my first time being in another country that didn’t use Euros as their currency! We flew in on Friday night and checked into our hostel which was actually pretty nice.  The next day we got up early and walked around the city, got some food, and went on a 2 hour walking tour of the city.  We saw so many things!  Prague is such a cool city…you feel like you’re in a Hans Christen Andersen fairytale (as Krystal said) haha.

Also, while we were there, we randomly saw our friend Matt who we had met in Brussels back in February.  He was traveling on his spring break with one of his friends from his program.  The two of them, Matt and Jill, are studying in southern France in Montpelier.  So the 5 of us hung out for most of the weekend!  So much fun!!  And also, we didn’t find out until Friday, but Obama was going to be there at the same time we were!!  He spoke at Prague Castle on Sunday  morning…and there were thousands and thousands of people there.  We didn’t go because it was a madhouse – but we did watch his speech with 2 other Czech guys who worked at the front desk of our hostel.  It was really neat to hear their point of view as well.  Obama’s speech was mostly about making an international effort to stop the threat of nuclear warfare.  I love hearing him speak!  It’s always so moving.  And Michelle Obama was there with him, and they looked great!  All the Czechoslovakians gave them such a warm welcome, too. 

Here are some pictures from my weekend in Prague!

Crazy Czech currency! In Czech, it's called koruna česká (Kč), or "koruns" (crowns) in English! The exchange rate was about 20Kč = 1€

Prague's famous Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square

Old Town Square with Tyn Church in the background

Me, Krystal, and Kassie with Prague Castle in the distance

Krystal, Kassie, and I during our pub crawl

Prague is also well-known for their Bohemian crystal!

We got Starbucks on Sunday morning. This is my Iced Caramel Macchiato and look how they spelled my name! Haha, Manaka. I like it.

Jill, Me, Matt, Krystal, and Kassie in Prague Castle

Saint Vitus' Cathedral

Changing of the guards at Prague Castle

Where Obama spoke just 2 hours before we got there

View from Prague Castle...overlooking all of Bohemia!

Cool band playing on Charles Bridge!

Ah trdlo!!! A delicious dessert in Prague. They roll dough into these little mini-barrel shaped forms and they have sugar on the outside!! Sooo good, esp when they first come off the roller

Langoše!! We each had one for lunch and they were delish! Ketchup, Cheese, and Garlic on this really good fried dough, haha. Not exactly healthy - but so good!

This is a short post but I don’t have much time because I’m leaving for Spring Break in just a few hours!!  Matt and I are backpacking through Italy!!  We’re starting in Rome, and going to Florence, Pisa, Milan, and Venice!  Then I’m going to Barcelona to stay with Ashley for a week!  HAPPY SPRING BREAK!!  Write again soon!

Bisous!

Monica

Dublin et le jour de Saint Patrick!

For St. Patty’s Day weekend, my roommate, Kassie, and I went to Dublin!!  Where else would be better?!  It was both our first time there, and Ashley was also going with some of her friends from GSE Barcelona…so needless to say, we had a MonAsh reunion!!  It had been over 2 months since I last saw her!  I can’t tell you how amazing Dublin was.  What a beautiful and lively city…with some of the most friendly people I’ve ever met!

We first arrived in Dublin on Friday night, so we checked into our hostel quickly,  and then met up with Ashley and her friend Shaina to go grab a drink at a bar before they closed.  We didn’t have much time before they closed but we were also tired from the traveling, etc.  So that night we went to bed early because we were going to get up early the next day and explore Dublin!  On Saturday morning, we did the Free Walking Tour of Dublin which was REALLY good!  Basically, this company called New Europe believes that every visitor should have a tour of the city at no cost, regardless of their budget.  They have volunteer tour guides who work on a tips-only basis, so their tours are really good.  Most of the tour guides are college or grad students so they’re very knowledgeable, friendly, and funny!  Basically, they want to make the tour the best it can be so they can get tips!  And if you don’t want to tip, you don’t have to – that’s their whole idea.  Anyway, our tour guide was Conor and he was really great!  Here are some pictures from the tour:

Christ Cathedral

Tour Guide Conor!

Me & Ash on tour

Temple Bar!!!

Liffey River...O'Connell Bridge in distance

The story behind the colorful doors in Dublin: Women painted their doors different colors to help their husbands distinguish which door was theirs when they were drunk, so they wouldn't end up in the wrong house and in the wrong bed!

They had these reminders on the streets at every crosswalk to remind tourists to look a certain direction when crossing....HAHA! Ireland and England are the two crazy countries that drive on the opposite side of the road

The Spire!

After the walking tour, we walked around because every Saturday in the Temple Bar District they have a market where you can buy all types of food.  There was Indian food, Asian food, all types of nuts/cheese/fruit, and then there were OYSTERS.  Since I’ve never had an oyster, I decided to take my first oyster shot.  I like to try everything once!  So, Kassie, Ashley, and I all had our first oyster shots in Dublin.  They didn’t like theirs – I was the only one who liked them! 

About to try our first oyster shot! Mmm.

Then after the food market, we headed over to the Guinness Storehouse to take a tour of the factory!  It was AWESOME!!  We learned all about Guinness and how they brew their beer!  And at the end of the tour with your ticket, you were entitled to a free pint!!  You got to pour it yourself and get a certificate as well!!  After we poured our pints, we could go up to the top level of the Guinness Storehouse which was called the Gravity Bar.  You have one of the best views of Dublin up there!!  Overall, one of the coolest tours I’ve ever been on.

Guinness Storehouse!

Me & Ash!

This is true! Since Kassie & Ash are actually Irish...it wasn't necessary for them to be in this one!

Guinness pelican ad

Me pouring my pint!

The Perfect Pint!

Perfect Pint Success

View from the Gravity Bar...Wicklow mountains in the distance

Shaina, Kassie, Ash, and I in Gravity Bar

Then Saturday night we went out of course!!  Dublin has over 800 pubs so we went to a good amount of them   For dinner, we went to this place called Gallagher’s Boxty House in Temple Bar district and had some good Irish food!  I got a chicken boxty for dinner and I also tried my first soda bread!  Then afterward, we went to Porterhouse Brewing Co. where they had this AWESOME live band that played really good Irish music.

My chicken boxty for dinner. It was delish

Streets of Dublin @ night

Porterhouse!! Our favorite bar!

Live Irish Music!!

Me & Shaina in Porterhouse Having a great time!

Then on Sunday, Ash and I walked around Dublin.   We checked out Grafton St. which had really cool shops and things to look at.  While walking around, we even got to see some Irish dancing!!  They were so cute!  Ash got a really cute Ireland track jacket and we both got claddagh rings.  We walked all around and did some souvenir shopping until Ash had to leave.

Ash & Me on Grafton St.

Irish Dancing!!

So far, the weekend in Dublin was BY FAR my most favorite.  Dublin is a FANTASTIC city and I had such a great time.  Got to see so many things and just really enjoyed myself.  I highly recommend visiting if you ever get the chance

And then for actual St. Patty’s Day, my friend Rosy and I went out to Corcoran’s Irish Pub in the Latin Quarter here in Paris.  It was a LOT of fun!!!  So they were giving out free Guinness hats and we managed to get one for ourselves!

Me & Rosy at the Irish Pub. Happy St. Patty's Day!

That’s all for now!  This Saturday I’m going to Versailles, which will be my 2nd time visiting, but I can’t wait!  Look out for another post soon   Bon week-end!

Bisous,

Monique

Beaucoup de choses! (Many Things!)

Salut tout le monde!!!  Haven’t updated in quite some time, so I shall fill you all in now!

First things first.  Just a forewarning, actually: I visited a lot of cemeteries/cathedrals/museums so there will be many pictures of all those!  Hopefully you’ll find them interesting

Two weekends ago, I went to Reims, which is about an hour away from Paris on the TGV.  Reims was somewhere I’ve been wanting to go for a long time so it worked out that my program planned a day trip there.  I read all about the Cathedral of Reims in my French textbooks for years, so to see it in PERSON was just absolutely incredible.  Many French Kings were crowned there and Clovis was baptized there!  Any Francophone knows what I’m talking about!  And if not, Clovis was the King of the Franks in the 6th century, and is also considered the founder of the Merovingian dynasty (which ruled the Franks for the next 2 centuries).  Enough of being a nerd!  We also took a tour of a champagne cavern, since Reims is in the Champagne region of France.  Here are some pics:

Cathédrale de Reims

the back of the cathedral

Champagne tasting at Vranken-Pommery!

The next day was the first Sunday of the month in March, so all the government-run museums are free!  I went to the Musée National Picasso in the Marais district of Paris, and then to the Musée Rodin with Matt, Beth, and Kassie.  It was a really good day.  It wasn’t too cold and it wasn’t raining!  I don’t really have any pictures from the Picasso Museum because they didn’t allow you to take pictures.  Bummer.  But, I do have PLENTY from the Rodin Museum — and I really loved this museum, so I was happy that we were able to take pictures inside!

Me and The Thinker!

Kassie, Beth, and I all posing with The Three Shades

The Gates of Hell

The Kiss

Random sculpture that I really liked

In my free time, I’ve checked out a lot of different places.  I made a list of everything I want to do/see while I’m here in Paris.  I’m totally a list person!  So far, I’ve visited Saint Sulpice (the 2nd largest cathedral in Paris after Notre Dame), and if you’ve ever read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, you’ll be familiar with this cathedral, le Cimetière du Montparnasse where many famous people are buried, Les Invalides, where Napoleon’s tomb is, and just the other day I visited Les Catacombes!  All these places were very interesting…well, at least they are to me!  Haha.  I’m really starting to get to know Paris…every district..every metro line.  I’m totally loving it.  It always feels good when you really start to know a city – inside and out.

Saint Sulpice (with construction)

The gnomon on the floor inside the cathedral

The organ inside Saint Sulpice. It was HUGE!

Cimetière du Monparnasse: Me inside Camille Saint-Saëns' mausoleum. One of my favorite composers!

Beckett's grave

Sartre & de Beauvoir

Baudelaire

Les Invalides by day

L'Académie Française at night...from across the Seine

Me with Napoleon's Tomb behind me. Such a large tomb for such a tiny man. Hm.

Entrance to the Catacombs: Stop! This here is the empire of death.

the bones are literally right in front of you...

lots and lots of skeletons...

I’ve also taken a few other trips with GSE as well.  The most recent trip was this past weekend.  We took a train from Gare Saint-Lazare up to Normandie…about a 2 hour ride.  Not bad at all.  When we first arrived, we went to see la Tapisserie de Bayeux, which tells the story of events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066.  Unfortunately, photography wasn’t permitted in the museum, but I found some Google images of the tapestry that I’ll post.  Then we grabbed some lunch at this galette place, which was really good actually.  Afterward, we went to some of the D-Day beaches (Gold and Omaha), visited the American Cemetery, where there are about 9,400 soldiers buried, and if you’ve ever seen the movie Saving Private Ryan, the opening scene is filmed in the American Cemetery, and then lastly went to Pointe du Hoc, which was a point of attack during WWII.  I had been to Normandy once before when I visited France 4 years ago, but it was nice going back and seeing some more things.

Part of the Bayeux Tapestry thanks to Google Images

Gold Beach

American Cemetery

another view

Me standing between the flags of my two favorite countries!!!

Pointe du Hoc

C’est tout!  I leave tomorrow for Dublin for St. Patty’s Day weekend!! WOOO!  I am SO excited!!  I’ll be posting again soon

Ciao!
Monica