Rome, Strasbourg, Kerre's, and Zurich... to say the least I'm a little bit behind!

Rome:

I arrived into Rome after a restless night's sleep on the train. I grabbed my backpack, found my bus, missed my stop, couldn't find the entrance to vatican city, found it, then couldn't find the entrance to the Vatican Museum... well I sorted myself out and got into the museum on a semi-discount because I don't actually have a ISIC card to get the 7 euro ticket, but the guard only charged me 10euros instead of the 15!  The Vatican museum was full of random things and I almost missed the Pope's garage!

 Making my wishes at Trevi Fountain!

 My pasta dinner , the Panteon, and my first gelato in Rome!

After I finished the museum I met up with Reggie and we started my tour of Rome. I saw the Pantheon,Trevi, and lots of cute streets light up for christmas!

Day 2:

 Roman Forums, the Colosseum, and the Spanish Steps

 Audrey Hepburn Exhibit and Trevi at night!

 Food, Food, and more Food. Gelato, Pizza, and Boci (reggie's fav. candy)

Day 3:

 The day started with my italian style croissant and a walk through the rain to the Vatican.

 WHERE I SAW DA POPE!

 Then we went back to the hotel where I ate peanut butter and waited for my shoes to dry out  :)


Strasbourg:

Sorry these are sideways, and I have  no idea how to rotate... But here are some cute houses in La Petite France, me creeping on some frenchies, and the tallest christmas tree in Europe!

Zurich:

Here are the pics from Zurich. I think they're pretty self-explanatory and I'm ready to go to bed.

Pre-Rome Why My host parents are fantastic.

Direct Convo from dinner tonight: (Translated for the ease of my audience)
Host-Mom (HM): When do you leave?
Me: In an hour, I will leave the house at 9
HM: oh for the 945 train
Me: yeah
HM: Tomorrow right?
Me: actually tonight
HM: What? I thought it was tomorrow! I didn't pack you a snack!!
Me: that's fine, I think I'll just take a piece a fruit. Maybe a bananna.
HM: I have pommepotes (drinkable apple sauce) downstairs.
Me: I'm fine with a bananna.
HM: You could take a bananna and a pommepotes. And some cookies too!
Me: Um..
HM: or two pommepotes!
HD (dad): or two bannana of course! Or two banannas and three pommepotes!
Me: Um...
HM: Let me show you where they are in the basement!

What I ended up with:
A bananna, an orange, an entire sleeve of Prince cookies, and a pommepote.
Just in case anyone was wondering what I'll be snacking on for the next 13 hours on my way to Rome...

PARIS WITH ALEX AND REGGIE!!!

So, to say the least I have been anticipating this weekend with great joy of several weeks now. It's the first time I would see Alex or Reggie in a couple months and we would be seeing each other is Paris. Does it get much better than that?
Plan for the morning:

• wake-up: 5:30am
• leave house: 6am
• arrive at train station 6:35
• train departure: 6:50
• arrive in Paris: 8:36
• Meet Alex and Reggie at the Louvre at 9:30

What really happened:

• wake-up: 5:45
• leave house (without breakfast): 6:05
• realize I forgot my eurorail pass: 6:20
• arrive at house to desperately search for eurorail pass: 6:24 
• Leave house with eurorail pass: 6:27
• Make the bus at perfect timing: 6:29
• Thanks to the lack of traffic, or well anything at this time on a saturday, descend bus: 6:38
• (12 minutes to go) Arrive at train station (after a couple sprints): 6:42
• Train leaves: 6:50
• Catherine breathes: 6:55
• arrive in Paris: 8:36
• walk the wrong way (once again with a map...) and start in right direction: 8:50
• arrive at Louvre: 9:40
• Spend 10 minutes jumping up and down hugging Alex and Reggie

Obviously we started out "sightseeing" at the Louvre, where we saw what we wanted to (pretty much everything except anything that had to do with Greek), visited the Tullaries Gardens, ate lunch at a cafe, climbed the Eiffel tower (by elevator), visited the Paris Musée de Beaux Arts, and opted not to wait in line for Mussée de L'Orangerie for the water lillies.  Instead we found a grocery store, bought water, and they walked me to Paris Bercy to catch my train home.

I didn't get to see much of Paris or Alex and Reggie, but I've already spent time with them, and I'm sure to spend more time with them later :) Especially since I am less than 4 days away from Rome with Reggie!

When the budget goes wayward...

During the first 6 weeks of my sejour I was being very conscience of my budget and spending. I even had a notebook entitled as such were I recorded every last trip to the coffee machine (which is too often...). However I think I was so excited about how frugal I was in Montpellier that I began to totally ignore my spending. Somehow going 3 euros over your lunch budget and spending 4 more euros on a drink at a café each day quickly adds up. Today I realized that I had spent 60 euros this week, not even this week, but in the last 4 days. I don't even know where it went! (well I do.. 10 for a Petit Prince Napkin dispenser that is so cute and kitchy that I couldn't help myself, 3 euros for postcards, 7 euros for lunch, 3 euros for cookie supplies, 12 euros for my 3 course lunch, 4 euros for a hot apple cider, 6 euros for lunch at the bagel place, 3 euros reservation fee for my trip to Paris, a couple trips on the bus...) Needless to say, I need to start watching my pursestrings a little more closely, however I got a great week out of it so who am I to complain? It's not like I went Black Friday shopping!

Les Intouchables

I’ve decided that I really need to start posting directly after something interesting happens in my life, because it’s been almost 3 weeks since I went to Montpellier and this is my second post since that has nothing to do with Montpellier.

Yesterday during dinner my host mom invited me to go to a movie with her and my host brother Jean. Still feeling horrible about the last time I said I was going to go to the movies with them (and forgot), I was eager to redeem myself. So today, after classes (which followed a marvelous morning in town with Maria doing her Christmas shopping and enjoying the beautiful weather at a café) I hurried home to make sure that whenever they were going to go to the movies I would be home. Which I was, thankfully. Jean. Marie-Genevieve et moi went to see Les Intouchables which was incredible. It’s a story (based on a true story) about rich man who is paralyzed from the neck down and his hilarious, fun loving caregiver who comes from the Banlieue of Paris (basically Paris is the opposite of Detroit. All the rich people live in the inner city and all the gangs/ poverty etc takes place in the suburbs) . I knew it would be an excellent movie when I was laughing so hard I was about to cry, and the opening credits hadn’t even played yet. Basically, as soon as it’s possible to see this movie in the US, everyone should jump up to rent it. It’s the perfect balance of funny and heartwarming that will let you leave the theater in a wonderful mood. So 1^st thing I love about my host family: not only do they invite me along, but my host mom refuses to let me pay for my own ticket. After the movie we stopped by a Kebab (which are literally on every corner) and bought a “sandwich” to eat at home. 2^nd thing I love about my host family: my 12 year old host brother is the one that insisted on treating us for dinner.

Basically I had a wonderful night that showed me just how lucky I got with my host family. Now I only need to find a Christmas gift for them that will show them how much I appreciate it…

p.s. I promise I'll put up stuff from the last two weekends before I leave for Paris saturday.

Riding a bike is like riding a bike. You never forget how.

Today's Lesson:
the phrase: "____ is like riding a bike, you never forget" is sort of true. I didn't forget how to ride a bike, but I definitely forgot how to keep my balance, I definitely never learned how to ride a bike in a city, and I definitely forgot how much it hurts when you get back on a bike.
To explain, I made plans to meet Maria and Charlotte at the Lake Kir on the other side of Dijon and my host dad offered to lend me a bike. I, not wanting to cough up the 2 euros to take the bus back and forth, agreed not thinking about the fact that I haven't been on a bike in 4 years and was never a strong biker in the first place. I didn't even learn to actually ride a bike without training wheels until I was like 11! However, they pulled out my host mom's bike, gave me the bike lock, pumped up the tires and sent me on my way. But to where? I had never gone anywhere near Tallon before and I had no idea in the world how to get there, and using a map on a bike is near impossible, especially when you're trying to remember how to avoid trashcans and cars parked on the sidewalk. Nevertheless I continued in the direction I thought would lead me to the lake. However, I probably went the wrong way 4 or 5 times before discovering this perfect little pathway for bikes and pedestrains alongside the canal (that logic told me would lead to the lake) and it would have if I had turned to right way... Obviously I didn't think about the fact that I was not seeing the right scenery until a mile or two in the wrong direction, forcing me to turn around and retrace my "steps" and continue in the right directions for a couple more miles. In the end I got there, and it couldn't have been a better day to bike along this beautiful canal, full of sun and a nice fall temperature (or what fall should be in the rest of the world *cough* Michigan *cough*) We took a nice walk along the lake and hung out on the dock enjoying the sun set reflecting on the water.
All in all it was a good day, but it made me doubt my directional skills. 

Who is more frustrating: older host brother or real older brother

While I've had many complaints over the years about my four older brothers who love to get on my nerves, I think I've entered a new level of frustration when it comes to my host brother. At 21 he is living at home still, which I have no problem with. The problem is that he's been moving out into this new apartment for like a week now. He's moved the salon full of furniture and boxes to this new apartment, as well as another bedroom full of boxes, and 95% of his room. And yet he's still living in his room here! I just want to my own bathroom!!!!!!