Monday, April 5, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
So, I think I'm going to post a random fact about myself every day for a month... Should be interesting to see how this turns out...
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Day 2 of the Copenhagen Birthday experience was spent wandering the streets with Jonas.
We walked to some famous cemetery to see HC Andersen's grave as well as that of Issac Bohr. No, I still don't know who Mr. Bohr is, but they insist that he is important.
here is a cold Jonas, and then a cold Liz
And for those of you that are interested, the tombstone, you can translate his epitaph if you like, I had it translated for me in the cemetery... don't remember what it said... Jonas was upset it didn't rhyme...
We then went to the weirdest place I have ever been in my entire life... Christiania
You just need to read the article for a decent explanation, but basically these guys built their own houses in the 70's and declared themselves a free state. They don't pay taxes [subject of controversy] and they allow the sale of hash [another subject of controversy]. You can't really take pictures because that would be proof of the drug trade, so they don't tolerate that. I took a picture of the sign on the way out....
Bizarre.
We then went to the state art museum where it was warm and hung out there until he passed the torch to Ben later that evening.
Saturday was the Danish version of Halloween [kinda] so we went to a costume party at one of Ben's friends house. You would have sworn you were in the US with how dressed up everyone was. It was pretty entertaining. Ben was a cop since she had her costume from the US, and I improvised a french outfit; stripes, beret, eiffel tower necklace, overall feeling of superiority.
Everyone seriously went all out. Awesome !
Monday, February 15, 2010
I realize I haven't been very diligent in keeping up with the blog, and for that I apologize! This past weekend I went to visit my friends Jon, Benedikte and Jonas in Copenhagen [Denmark, mom] for my birthday!
I had a great time seeing everyone again, and it was the first time they had seen each other since we left Columbia in December.
I toured Copenhagen with Jon on Friday, Jonas on Saturday and with Ben on Sunday. It was great to see what each of them had to show me about their city.
First thing I noticed: I was the only person there that didn't have blue or green eyes
second thing: Bikes everywhere !!
It seems kinda silly to bike around when its below freezing outside, but it actually makes a lot of sense when you realize that a 10-clip card costs about $27 to use the public transportation. Each journey counts as a 'clip' and if you go outside the center journeys can cost 2, 3 or 4 clips. Biking is def cheaper!
The first monument we visited was the Rundetårn [round tower] which is in the middle of downtown and over looks the entire city.
We also visited a statue of Hans Christian Andersen, who is pretty much the only famous Danish person. Ever. Don't tell them I said that ....
And along the same lines.... the Little Mermaid Statue...
To Warm up and fuel up Jon and I had lunch at a traditional Danish Restaurant. You all know how food adventurous I am NOT, so it was definitely a challenge. Basically you choose your dishes from ones that are presented on a table. They are essentially cold and healthy tapas. A slice of dark, healthy bread topped with whatever you like; herring, roast beef, eggs, potato salad - you name it! You can also get a few things from a menu; Jon got steak tartar and I got Tartelette, which is like chicken pot pie in individual pastry crusts. It was pure deliciousness. On Sunday, while walking around with Ben, I snapped a photo of the place because I was tired of calling it "that traditional Danish place" because no one knew what I was talking about !!
I had a great time seeing everyone again, and it was the first time they had seen each other since we left Columbia in December.
I toured Copenhagen with Jon on Friday, Jonas on Saturday and with Ben on Sunday. It was great to see what each of them had to show me about their city.
First thing I noticed: I was the only person there that didn't have blue or green eyes
second thing: Bikes everywhere !!
It seems kinda silly to bike around when its below freezing outside, but it actually makes a lot of sense when you realize that a 10-clip card costs about $27 to use the public transportation. Each journey counts as a 'clip' and if you go outside the center journeys can cost 2, 3 or 4 clips. Biking is def cheaper!
The first monument we visited was the Rundetårn [round tower] which is in the middle of downtown and over looks the entire city.
We also visited a statue of Hans Christian Andersen, who is pretty much the only famous Danish person. Ever. Don't tell them I said that ....
And along the same lines.... the Little Mermaid Statue...
To Warm up and fuel up Jon and I had lunch at a traditional Danish Restaurant. You all know how food adventurous I am NOT, so it was definitely a challenge. Basically you choose your dishes from ones that are presented on a table. They are essentially cold and healthy tapas. A slice of dark, healthy bread topped with whatever you like; herring, roast beef, eggs, potato salad - you name it! You can also get a few things from a menu; Jon got steak tartar and I got Tartelette, which is like chicken pot pie in individual pastry crusts. It was pure deliciousness. On Sunday, while walking around with Ben, I snapped a photo of the place because I was tired of calling it "that traditional Danish place" because no one knew what I was talking about !!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
I had a small chore this week. Turns out that all the limited edition Star Wars goods produced by Adidas are sold out all over the states. I ran across some here in Paris and told Nick... he proceeded to beg me to buy him a pair since he cant get a hold of any in the States. Since I'm such an excellent sister, before my class on Wednesday I went to the massive Adidas store on the Champs-Elysées to see if they have the shoes. Here are some photos i took while out and about... yes, they are all of the same thing; the Arc de Triomphe!
Monday, January 25, 2010
The following is my interaction with one of the offices on campus while trying to pay my 200 euro social security fee. It went down in French, but it's in English for your reading pleasure
Friday Afternoon:
Liz: Hi, I need to sign up and pay for my social security
Man 1: [shrugs] end of the hall, on the left
Liz: Hi, I need to sign up and pay for my social security
Man 2: Back to the front, 1st desk when you enter on the left. But she's not here this afternoon
Liz: Hi again, they said its the woman that sits at the desk facing yours.
Man 1: She's not in today, try Monday
Monday morning:
Liz: Hi, Im back. [motions to desk] Is she in today?
Man: No, only the afternoon.
Liz: But she will be here this afternoon
Man: [shrugs] I think so
Liz: I have class from 1:30-8pm, can I come tomorrow?
Man: She's only here Monday and Thursday, from 1-4:30
Liz: [i need to sign up for this job] Thanks....
So yeah, I cant pay my fees bc the woman is never in. What kind of system is this that only ONE person can handle things and that one person is never in? Welcome to FRANCE !!
Friday Afternoon:
Liz: Hi, I need to sign up and pay for my social security
Man 1: [shrugs] end of the hall, on the left
Liz: Hi, I need to sign up and pay for my social security
Man 2: Back to the front, 1st desk when you enter on the left. But she's not here this afternoon
Liz: Hi again, they said its the woman that sits at the desk facing yours.
Man 1: She's not in today, try Monday
Monday morning:
Liz: Hi, Im back. [motions to desk] Is she in today?
Man: No, only the afternoon.
Liz: But she will be here this afternoon
Man: [shrugs] I think so
Liz: I have class from 1:30-8pm, can I come tomorrow?
Man: She's only here Monday and Thursday, from 1-4:30
Liz: [i need to sign up for this job] Thanks....
So yeah, I cant pay my fees bc the woman is never in. What kind of system is this that only ONE person can handle things and that one person is never in? Welcome to FRANCE !!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Today was the first day since I've been here that the sun has decided to grace the lovely city of Paris with its presence. I decided to dust off my camera and take a few pictures of the scenery:
Le Pont Neuf
The Louvre
The Sales !!
Rue de Rivoli
A little café on Ile de la cité
Le Pont Neuf
The Louvre
The Sales !!
Rue de Rivoli
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Today Nolen [my roommate] called me and asked me if I wanted to join his language school on a walking tour of Paris. I decided that it was probably a good idea since I should really know as much as possible about the city that's my home for the next 5 months. All I really can vouch for is that it's super cold out and makes me NOT want to walk around at ALL ! I met up w the group at 2pm and we headed to the Pont Neuf [New Bridge, which is actually the oldest bridge in Paris] for the beginning of the tour.
We walked through the Louvre courtyards, past the pyramid, around the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, and through the Jardin Tulieries. We continued on to the Champs-Elysées were we stopped at a few flagship stores and toured an art exhibit above the Louis Vuitton store [after of course balking at the price of the leather goods on display]. While this all sounds short and sweet, we were zigzagging all over the place, popping in and out of hotels and various buildings, and didnt arrive at our final destination, the Arc de Triomphe, until around 6:30pm. It was informative, cold and exhausting. Which made it easy to come home, make dinner and veg out in front of the 8pm news.
Here's a map of our route. It was 5km, which is about 3.1miles... which should only take about an hour or so to walk... but we managed to draw it out to 4.5, with all the stopping and learning :)
(photo not my own)
We walked through the Louvre courtyards, past the pyramid, around the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, and through the Jardin Tulieries. We continued on to the Champs-Elysées were we stopped at a few flagship stores and toured an art exhibit above the Louis Vuitton store [after of course balking at the price of the leather goods on display]. While this all sounds short and sweet, we were zigzagging all over the place, popping in and out of hotels and various buildings, and didnt arrive at our final destination, the Arc de Triomphe, until around 6:30pm. It was informative, cold and exhausting. Which made it easy to come home, make dinner and veg out in front of the 8pm news.
Here's a map of our route. It was 5km, which is about 3.1miles... which should only take about an hour or so to walk... but we managed to draw it out to 4.5, with all the stopping and learning :)
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Today was the 10th Traversée de Paris [crossing of Paris] by this French car club. Basically if you have a car thats a classic and older than 1976 you can drive through the streets of Paris and show it off. I thought it sounded cool so Nolen and I left around 8am to get to the Arc de Triomph to see some old cars drive around the massive round about. We pretty much stood outside for 30 minutes and saw one car. I was expecting some sort of Parade, but I guess that wasn't the case. We decided to walk down to Trocadero, by the Eiffel Tower to see the endpoint, and maybe there would be some cars there... We trudged through the slush and about 20 min later made it to the endpoint, which was right in front of the Eiffel Tower. Picturesque. Except... where were the cars? We spotted one and there didn't seem to be any more showing up so we decided to call it a day and head home. I couldn't feel my toes and it seemed like we were on a wild goose chase. As we were leaving a FEW cars pulled up, so I snapped a few shots so the day wasn't a complete waste.
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