Here are pictures of my room! : )

My Host Family!!

Well last night we arrived on the train at 5:30 to Grenoble. The last 15 mins of the ride went WAY to fast we were all so nervous! Kat Gaelen and I were practically attached to each other. They are the girls in the pics by the way :) It all happened so fast we got off the train and all the host moms were already there to pick us up. I went with Anne (my host mom) and we took the Tram to the bus stop and then the bus to the block they live at in all it took only 15 mins or so to get there with luggage and in the rain. She showed me because I had to go by myself this morning to the Office of Tourism in Grenoble to meet my group because they all had to be at work. She is a really good cook we had an amazing meal both last night and tonight. Really good stuff that I like to eat lots of vegetables and fruit!! YAY! This morning I got up in my huge room and had breafast and the house all to myself because they were at school and work. My host sister did not get home until tonight though so I did not get to meet her until about 5 mins before I came down here to go to bed. I went to a cheese tasting today with the API group I am with it was fun tasting everything and learning how to eat it! After that Kat Gaelen and I went to monoprix a store like target here to get notebooks to write words we don't know down on and look up later. In my house I have started to carry around the dictionary and tonight I was watching Wheel of Fortune to help me figure stuff out I think game shows will be my new thing here lol that and soap operas- they tried to explain all the things happening in one of them and really confused me lol oh well I will get it eventually. It makes you so tired trying to think in french all the time and trying to translate in your head but I kinda don't translate anymore I just am starting to know what it means right away. My host brother likes to give me a hard time but I can do the same to him with his English which is apperantly his worst subject in school! things are soo different here but I am tired so I will write more about that tomorrow!! Bon Nuit!

Notre Dame, La Louvre and Le Arch D'Triumph

Today was a big day we headed out right after breakfast again straight to the Notre Dame. I walked through the Cathedral with Kat and Gaelen. then the whole group walked all the way to the top where the bell tower is. Day 2 of a million stairs. We walked up the winding staircase and saw the old bell. It was pretty cool. Out side on the roof we took pictures of all the Gargoyles. After Notre Dame we went to La Louvre! There we saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Psyche and Cupid, Napoleon's apartment rooms, paintings from many eras and had a really good lunch in the museum restaurant. After the Louvre we got on the Metro and headed to the Arch D'Triumph. the three of us are really good at getting around the city. We walked to the top of the Arch again more stairs I never want to live in a house with stairs now. We went back to the hotel for about an hour before going to the crepe place next to the hostel Hannah and I stayed in 2 weeks ago had amazing dinner and then found some chocolate crepes on the way back the the hotel again. So here I am now sitting in my room last night in Paris I am going to repack everything tonight so I can get up and go tomorrow we take the TGV a fast train to Grenoble for 3 hours in the afternoon! At the train station my host family will meet me! I am so nervous! Oh well to late now right? Not sure when I will be able to write again but I love all your commentsthey make my day every time I see them! thanks!

Sushi in Paris -who knew?

Today was amazing! We got up early from our very comfy hotel rooms and went to a free breakfast of coffee, bread, croissants, yogurt and hard boiled eggs. Then we went to the Palace of Versailles where Marie Antoinette and Louis the 16th lived. I was beautiful. We went all through the open parts of the palace and then for a walk in the gardens. Kat, Gaelen and I went to lunch at a little sandwich shop and then we took the RER ( a fast underground train, its not the metro it has less stops and goes faster) to the base of the Eiffel Tower where we WALKED up the stairs 600+ up and then 600+ down !! So many stairs! It was beautiful. After that Kat, Gaelen and I went and got a Crepe Chocolat Banane - or chocolate banana ina crepe :) it was very good and much deserved after the stairs. We meet up with the rest of our group back at the hotel and headed out to dinner. SUSHI! I was skeptical at first but willing to try - and I really liked it! I will be going out to sushi a lot in Corvallis when I get back I have always heard about some great places there but never had the guts till now to try it. We had a fun time at dinner and then came back to the hotel to rest- so tired! I am so glad to be with my group though so nice to not be stressed about it anymore I am not even that nervous about meeting my family! Love from Paris!

Whats been going on- Dublin and back to Paris

So I am sorry I have been unable to write on here for like a week. Dublin did not like Gmail so I could not answer any of my e-mail or write in here. Dublin other than that was amazing! I went to the writers museum! So cool for me being an english major and loving Jams Joyce and Oscar Wilde both of whom are Irish by birth! Books there were so cheap too! I got the complete works of Oscar Wilde for only 8 euro! 1000 pages of english I will treasure for the next few months I am sure. We also went out to the pub for dinner almost every night I had Bangers and Mash so tasty! Always accompanied dinner with a Guinness or a pint of Ale ( I like Ale better) I really tried to like Guinness but its not for me. The Factory however is really cool with an amazing restraunt, and a Free pint :) Hannah and I also went and saw the book of Kells at Trinity College in Dublin. It is the oldest most ornate copy of the four gospels. Very cool. Also at trinity college is one of the oldest libraries I have ever seen it was really interesting.
While at our last and most amazing hostel where the beds were so clean and the breakfasts free and yummy we tried to get our laundry done because they had a laundry service! We were sure this was to good to be true . . . .it was- they do not seperate anything in the laundry service and they wash it all in the same heat . . . least to say things changed color and size! Hannah faired far worse than I though I felt really bad! We also went to St Patricks Cathedral which was very nice too. Hannah left on the 23rd of September and I left this morning at 4 am took a crazy cab ride to the airport because people made me not take a bus saying it was to early in the morning or something . . .my flight thanks to the rugby world cup was an hour late! we sat in the plane in dublin that whole time not fun. When I got to Paris I meet up with Anne my Resident Director of the program we took a cab paid for by API to out . . .HOTEL! I am so happy not to be in a hostel! Glad I did it once but never need to again! The other 5 people in my group are really nice there is only one guy here but there are more meeting us in Grenoble thursday. We went on a river cruise tonight and then out to dinner again all on API it was really nice. We have jsut been asking a lot of questions about out families and french culture we meet our families on thursday night. Tomorrow we go to Versille and get to see everything this time gardens included! Then we get to climb the Eiffle Tower! Yes CLIMB all the way to the 2nd floor! its going to be interesting and fun I am excited to mail things from the post office there! ok well I hope I have caught everyone up! I am still alive, tired a little stressed but on my way to a real house! YAY! love you all!

ROME

This will be a short one because I have no time! Tomorrow we leave Rome for Dublin. I am not that impressed with Rome. The Vatacan was amazing, We got to see the Sisten Chapel and St Pauls bacilica , the Portrait of the last supper and much of Michelangelos works that are so incredible. However, the city is really dirty and the people are not as nice as in the other places we have been and this is by far the least favorite hostile- oh well live and learn! The food is very good here and I am sure other parts of Italy are very nice! While in France we also went to Normandy and had a fun time at the museums the last days we were there. Here in Rome we really did not do too much- we did see the coloseum- we were only here for 2 days and that was pleanty! Love you all thanks for reading tell you more later-

Paris!

So the play at the Globe theater was one of the most amazing I have ever seen! I watched someone have a public hanging right in front of me seriously so scary! it was 10 feet away from me because I was a groundling standing in the base of the theater next to the gallows. Any way after that we saw Big Ben all lit up and beautiful in London and headed home for a good nights rest to fly to Paris the next day. After a long day of travel we finally made it into Paris and went straight to the hosel to get some sleep. On Wednesday the 12th we went on an open top buss tour of Paris where we saw the Arc de Triumph, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, where the Bastille once stood, the Louvre, and other museums from the bus. Tomorrow we are gong to the museums! I am tres excited! We also went to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night and then came down and saw it all sparkling! It sparkles every hour on the hour for 5 mins. Today we woke up at 5 am to catch our tour of Normandy, we went and saw a tapestry over 1000 years old that is longer than my house telling the tale of William the Conquerer then we went to Utah and Omaha Beaches and the memorials to the US and other Allies of WWII and we saw the cemetary it was really intense, I could not beilive how many it was over 9000 graves and so many with people who we do not have the names of. We ended the Day at a really cute Cafe with an awesome owner who made us laugh all through dinner and I tried- and liked- escargo! Well I am almost out of time so More later !

Wonders of the world!

Well the last two days have been a whirlwind! Yesterday September 8th, we went to the tower of London saw everything there including the crown jewels!! They were amazing! we then went to Portabello road, where we bought fresh fruit and some bread cheese and wine for a picnic dinner which we ate along the river. The lady that sold us raspberries was very umm different but they tasted good and so far no one has died so we think they were fine lol. earlier in the day we went to the palace to watch the changing of the Gard that was pretty impressive as well. After that we went to the globe theater and bought tickets for tomorrow nights show! and then walked across the pedestrian only bridge over the themes river it was really pretty at night. We got to see St Peters Cathedral lit up and took pictures, Pepe enjoyed it a lot- and I have pictures to prove it. We had quite an adventure getting back home wandering the London streets after 10pm lol we were a sight to see, but we found an underground and headed back so that today we could wake up super early to go on an amazing tour of - Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and the City of Bath! Dad I took some pictures of 2000 year old tile work for you! It was quite a long day with that 12 hour tour! but nice to get out of London and not have to navigate streets on our own and let someone else do all the work for us while we sat on a nice bus and now we have seen one of the seven wonders of the world. We still have High Tea to go to tomorrow as well as to find a place that serves fish and chips English style :) And we are going to the Winston Churchill museum as well as the globe theater show- its going to be as all of them have been - a long day! But then off to Paris!!

London Baby!

We made it! though many of you thought you were going to have to force me onto the plane I went on my own!! haha! We arrived at the ungodly early hour of 645 am London time or 11pm Oregon time- waited in line at customs for 3 hours and then finally made it into London!! we mostly just got to our hostel figured out the underground system which I am very good at right now!! and then had some food and went to bed at 4pm London time and slept in until 8 am London time lol. This morning we got up and went to Hyde park looked at Kensington palace and the Diana Memorials all over the place and then got on a double Decker bus and took the original tour of London, we saw Big Ben, went into Westminster Abby (hands down best Abby I have ever seen- only people obsessed with friends will get this line) We took a cruise of the themes river (which I still cannot pronounce correctly, its pronounced tames apparently :) saw the London bridge which is nothing compared to the tower bridge that most people think is the London bridge I have pictures I will add later. We had a good dinner and enjoyed more of the bus tour and saw many statues and amazing buildings - everything in London is pretty we have decided! Our hostel is really nice our roommates are, get this from Vancouver Washington!! I travel around the world to meet people who live 2 hours away from me. oh well! Well we are having a BLAST and I cant wait to see more tomorrow! Hope all is well with you all back home!! Yes dad this was going on while I was in England I took a pic for you!

This is it . . . . going going GONE

Ok, in less than 14 hours I will be on a plane to LONDON! I am all packed and starring at my stuff in the middle of our living room floor wondering if I forgot anything important, if my suitcase will weigh to much and if I will be able to bring anything back for Christmas. I am also wondering where I should go in each of the cities I will be visiting if anyone has a suggestion let me know! Pepe is safely in my carry on and very excited about the trip, for those of you not familiar with
Pepe he is a penguin, who we passed around Presidents council last year and he will be traveling the world with me! Judge me all you want but if you really know me you cant be that surprised. Love you all ! I am off to stare more at the stuff in the living room to make sure it is all there and I am ready to take off in the morning with as little freak out as possible :)