Spring break photos-the week in reverse, Amsterdam-Morocco

Adorable dutch shutters-Amsterdam.

Bike/canal shot-Amsterdam.

Candid of Jimmy walking down the street-Amsterdam.

Another canal in Amsterdam.

Canal in Amsterdam.

dimensions of our Boatel in Amsterdam: sink, corner of bed to the right, wall to the left, suitcas in the middle of the floor of the room. And our lovely little window

Candid at la Sagrada-Barcelona

Another view of la Sagrada

La Sagrada Familia

Gaudi Museum

Cross at the top of Parc Guell

Chocolate stand in La Boqueria food market-Barcelona

Gaudi fountain in the Parc de la Ciutadella

Sculpture at the other end of the Arc-Barcelona

Arc de Triomf-Barecelona, Spain

Me on a camel!

Another candid at the Koutoubia Palace

Random stand in the Jewish area of Marrakech

Dried fruit and nut stand in the Souks

candid moment at La Koutounia Palace

Djemaa el Fna-main square in Marrakech where our riad was located.

A schmorgesborg of travel

Well this has been long over due.

Basically my life for the past three weeks has been an intense, exciting mix of places and people. So to save time and energy I am going to condense the past 3 weeks into a nice little summary.
Here we go:

Weekend of February 17th ( think that was a weekend, who knows):
I went and visited my friend, Sarah Paxton, in Scotland. She is studying in Sterling for a semester, which is right in the middle of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Basically I hit up Glasgow, Edinburgh and Sterling-the 3 major cities in Scotland-in two days. Just a tad exhausting. Edinburgh was definitely my favorite, for it housed a plethora of very old gothic buildings and cathedrals. Not to mention the Edinburgh castle which overlooks the entire city and more. The city is tightly wound around a kind of mountainy-cliff and had a lot of adorable historic streets and pubs. Overall, I loved Scotland-the people, castles and cathedrals were all extremely memorable. I was not a huge fan of the food, nor the freezing weather, but I am so happy that I finally got to visit it.

The next weekend was the start of my two week spring break where I visited Casablanca, Marakech, Barcelona, and Amsterdam. Just so I dont ramble on and lose you people I am going to break each place down into a little section.

Casablanca: We got there on the night of February 26th and immediately rejoiced at the warm night air. This was the first time we had been in a temperature over 40 degrees in months so we could not get over how amazing it felt. We were also met with the distinct smell of Africa- a bit moist, deserty, with a tinge of trash and tropical flowers. We stayed at a very cool hostel with unlimited mint tea (hollahhh) and an hysterical character of an owner. Casablanca was small and rather quiet, we were able to walk around most of it in a day. After a day and a half there we took a 3 hour train trip to Marakech. The train ride was interesting, as we were in the 2nd class and shared a cabin with two other Moroccan men. The ride reminded me of the train sequence from Slumdog Millionare; the interesting smells, crowded and loud cabins, and flashing Moroccan countryside. It was a pretty cool experience, despite the bathroom, which was like a shit box. Also, for some reason people in Morocco do not believe in supplying toilet paper-so basically you scrounged for whatever you had lying around in your purse, scraps of paper, receipts, etc. Yea.

Marrakech: In contrast to Casablanca, Marrakech was much more westernized and "with it". The train station even had a Starbucks and Burger King. Congratulations Starbucks for making it to Africa. Our riad (a homey type of hostel/ bed and breakfast) was located in the heart of the souks. The souks are a gigantic marketplace for tourists and locals alike, filled with leather bags, spices, shoes, knock-offs, food, jewelry, basically anything and everything. However, these souks were one of the most overwhelming experiences of my life. Vendors (basically all men) constantly yelled prices and discounts, or that they wanted to buy us for 12,000 camels...usual market dealings. After a few days I was completely exasperated from the souk and my nerves were frazzled beyond belief. I did make some pretty impressive bargaining purchases (Mary Lu, you taught me well), but for how much you put up with trying to navigate through the stalls it was almost not worth it. Other than the constant lewd comments from the Moroccan men and vendors, Morocco's culture was very unique. The women seemed to have no prominent place in society, everything was done by men. Overall, the food was satisfactory. We had two pretty amazing meals, but for the land of spices, the food was pretty bland. We did stumble upon this one restaurant that offered a 4 course meal for 80-100 dirham (8-10 dollars). That was SO delicious. I got chicken and couscous with raisins, salad, soup, bread, wine, fruit and coffee. It was one of the fullest I have ever been but so so worth it. We ended up going back the day after :). We also ended up riding camels for about 5 minutes just to say we did, the pictures from that adventure are pretty hysterical. After almost a week in Morocco we were ready for a new scene, our next destination-ESPAGNE!

Barcelona:
This was definitely my favorite stop on our adventure. It was probably because we spent the most time there and were able to relax. The food in Barcelona was delicious, despite the fact that I ended up getting terribly sick from eating bad sick-I couldnt be out of the bathroom for more than 5 minutes at a time for 2 days. Way gross. Despite that, everything was very fresh and flavorful. Right by our hostel there was a fresh food market with the most exquisite displays of fruit and chocolate I have ever seen. I have never seen so many colors and fruit juices combined in one location. Also, my sweet touch took over in Barcelona. I went to the candy store three times and the chocolate store my last day. The architecture, especially Gaudi's work was mesmerizing. Every aspect of the building was so intricate and beautiful. I went to the Picasso museum, which was interesting to see how his work and personality progressed and morphed throughout his career. I really liked his earlier work verses his more modern and recent ones. La Sagrada Familia was insane. It seemed like one of the wonders of the world. The towers loom over you in a way that they seem like they are bent over and looking down upon you. It is an eclectic combination of Christian architecture and complete randomness. The main thing I appreciated about Barcelona was it boldness in sculptures and architecture. Scattered around the city were random, extremely modern sculptures and more delicate, Renissance ones. I also fell in love with Sangria. Have not yet decided if this is a good or bad thing (as I have already taken a strong liking to red wine-I seem to become more like my mother with every turn).

Now onwards to Amsterdam, the most interesting location on my excursion. Jimmy and I landed at 12 am and did not make it into the city centre until 1:35 (there was a minor incident with a dire need for Burger King and the missing of the train. Obviously it was not my need for a chicken sandwich, but I am not going to go into that). Anyway, after we make it to the train station we began the hunt for our "boatel" (a hostel on a boat-another thing I am just going to let slide). After 20 minutes of walking along the river (freezing), we found our boatel and climbed in. Our first hint should have been that there was about an inch or two between each room door. But, given the fact that it was past 2 am and we were tired, cold and pissed off at each other over the chicken sandwich incident, we happened to miss that little detail. Opening the door to our room was a shock, to say the least. There were two mini bunk-beds, a sink and a tiny little portel window. Our suitcases and our selves almost did not fit into the room, let alone Jimmy could touch all 6 sides of the room by stretching out his arms and leg. Basically I curled up in bed with my clothes on, pulled the covers over my head, and died a little inside. We checked out the next morning.
Despite the rough start we found a cozy little hotel about 3 blocks down from our lovely boatel paradise and started the vacation fresh. We visited Anne Frank's house, which was extremely moving and fascinating. I really enjoyed the canals, tiny houses and quaint neighborhoods of Amsterdam. However, I quickly began to detest all the prostitutes and weed cafes. I understand it is a part of the culture and that weed is great in a lot of aspects, but after the first day I was itching to avoid it. The one thing I did consistently in Amsterdam was eat. Perhaps it was due to my pent up anxiety over all the vaginas I was seeing and weed clouds I was walking through, or the food just happened to be delicious and constantly in my face, or a little bit of both. Either way, I had scrumptious Chinese food, fries, waffles, brownies (a few different kinds), pancakes, etc. After the few days in Amsterdam I was more than ready to head back to Paris. Do not get me wrong, I loved Amsterdam (mostly outside the red light district), but after the coldness of that city and 2 weeks of traveling, my nerves were about to explode.

So after all of that, I made it home to Paris in one piece. A few days later, Sarah and some of her friends, visited me in Paris. Sadly, she is leaving today after an intense, tourist packed weekend. Needless to say, I am excited to ease back into my routine and Paris groove, especially with the constant increase of the temperature and taste of the sunlight.

All for now!
Love Bri

Les photographies de Mont St. Michel et notre fromagerie

The brie that I bought some of

The cheeses we got to taste

Beaucoup de fromage!

Our Fromagerie tour guide

View from the abbey

The abbey

One of the Chambers

Passage leading up to the abbey

View from the road

Le week-end de St. Valentine

Bonjour tout le monde!
This weekend was a whirlwind-exhausting, emotional, exciting, and full of chocolate. To start, I had my first experience at a french dance club on Thursday night. It was great to just move to music with no sense of time, but the club seemed to be creeper central. My friends and I could hardly move without some guy zeroing in and trying to section one of us off to dance. I now see how European men like to do things. However, my friend Mair adopted the handy method of literally shoving them off-kind of like ping pong. At about 4 am we decided our feet and nerves had had enough and we stumbled, homeward bound, into cabs.
Friday Katherine ( my friend from school), Ariana, and I went to a chocolatier in the 9th that was first opened in 1761; thus they obviously know a thing or two about creating amazing chocolate. The St. Valentine's displays were all gorgeous and delectable looking, however they were all pretty expensive. The store had a huge display case of all different types of chocolates and it was so overwhelming to try and select a few. I finally settled on all dark chocolates (my favorite). I tried a florentine, a light, delicate cup of dark chocolate filled with caramelized, slivered almonds covered again in chocolate. I also got a variety of different chocolate covered almonds and some truffles. It was my first gourmet chocolate purchase in Paris and it will definitely not be my last.
Onward to Saturday: my school visit to Mont St. Michel. Mont St. Michel is a compact, rocky island located in Normandy. The entire island was constructed around a single abbey, which is ominously perched atop the boulders and overlooks out onto the ocean and surrounding countryside. I do not remember much of the 4 hour bus ride-as I had to get up at 5:40 am to get to school and passed out as soon as I got on the bus-but the brief flashes of French countryside I did catch were picturesque. As much as I adore Paris, the French countryside was a refreshing respite from condensed city life. Rolling hills, tiny stone cottages, and quaint farms dot the expansive fields alongside the highway. As we pulled into the area around Mont St. Michel, I could not help but be captivated by the sweet villages and their lulling quality. It was as if life moved more slowly, more languidly-pulled awake only by the commerce of the local businesses and restaurants. Pulling up to Mont. St. Michel was very overwhelming. It looms over you like a dark castle, with the tiny shops-embedded in rock-winding to its entrance. We started our trip with a free lunch, hosted at a plain little restaurant located at the bottom of the mountain. The food was hearty and rustic; there was definitely no lack of butter. After lunch we proceeded up the tiny passageway up to the entrance of the abbey.
The abbey was breathtaking. Massive, haunting and cold, we wound through the different, starkly decorated chambers listening to an audio guided history about the monks who created it. The abbey took 60 years to build due to the changing tides and challenging process of getting the rocks up the mountain. After our visit we meandered around the touristy shops for a bit and finally headed back to the bus to take another 4 hour bus ride back to the city (which I also slept through).
And then there was St. Valentine's Day. I did not have many expectations for this holiday-just to fill up on chocolate and good food. However, in the late morning there was a knock on my door and there on the doorstep, much to my surprise, was a chocolatier's bag filled with a sunflower, truffles, a chocolate biscuit, and some chocolates. Jimmy. Thus, I headed out to find an open chocolate shop and bakery to return the favor. That night, me and my girlfriends went out to dinner at an amazing local pizza place and each got our own pizza. We ended the night with homemade chocolate strawberries (Ari and I made them earlier that day) and terrible white wine. I am still working on my chocolate :).
On Tuesday my French class took a field trip to a local fromagerie to learn about one of France's essentials-cheese. The shop was closed especially for us and we got a private explanation of how cheese is made and its different stages of fermentation. I learned that there are 400 different types of cheese in France and they are made from three different types of milk: goat, cow and brebis (a female sheep). Most cheeses are made in the mountain areas because the cold climate helps preserve the cheese during its aging process. We then got to try 5 different types of cheeses and some jam. Of course I could not help but buy some after that, so I settled on one of my favorites, Brie. I also got a small container of blackberry jam, one of my comfort foods. It was a really fun excursion and I now know that cheese is not a joking matter in France. It is part of the daily triangle of existence in France: wine, cheese, bread.

Few photos from d'Orsay

First week in February

With February comes the rain and snow and fog. Especially the fog. It coats this city like nothing i have ever seen before and every day is the same color. And what better way to remedy gray dreariness than to spend a day inside a museum. Last Sunday my friend Lisa and I took advantage of free museum day (the first Sunday of every month most of the museums in Paris are free), and went to Musee D'Orsay. Built out of an old train station, D'Orsay is one of the most elegant and open museums I have ever been to. Granted I have not yet been to the Louvre, so I am sure that will change. However, at the moment, this is my favorite museum. The ceiling is one of the mos magnificent parts; painted a pale sea foam green and decorated with antiqued ivory flowers with wide, arching sky lights. Also, at the front of the museum there is this immense golden clock that seems to be an original part of the station, which I could not get enough of of. Okay on to the art.
I was so delighted to visit this museum because of its impressive collections-it basically had all of my favorite artists under one roof-Monet (big favorite), Degas, Pissaro, Cassatt, Manet, Renoir, Sisley, Cezanne, etc. I was most excited to see the Monets and Degas', as I have been obsessed with those artists since I was younger and their works are frequently the back ground on my computer. Seeing them in real life was mind blowing. I wanted so much to reach out and physically touch them, feel the actual brush strokes, bumpy paint and canvas. When something so famous, old and beautiful is right in front of your nose its hard to not make contact. Needless to say, I was elated just to be in the same room with Monet's sailboats and Degas' dancers for the first time in my life, it was pretty awesome.
I was also captivated by the sculptures posed throughout the museum. It has always fascinated me that one man can take a hunk of stone and morph and whittle it down to something so lifelike. From the grooves on the knuckles and in the skin, to the facial expressions and poses, each sculpture was like a photograph in a way. I took a picture of the back of one sculpture because I could not get over how beautiful the hand gracing the skin was (im posting it down below). After the museum, Lisa and I decided to walk around to find lunch. Instead, we ended up just walking back to my area (45 minute walk), just because it was actually bearable outside and we were enjoying discovering the little ally ways and unique neighborhoods.
Since Valentines Day is this weekend, all the chocolate shops are arranging their displays and each one looks delectable. My room mate, Ariana, and I have decided that we are going to buy ourselves very expensive chocolate and wine, and hell-even a baguette and brie cheese-and eat and drink ALL DAY. I have not bought chocolate here yet (probably a good thing) because it is so so expensive, but I have been waiting for the opportune moment to indulge.
On a healthier note, I had my first yoga class last week and loved it. I am really trying to get into yoga because my legs are constantly tight from running. For a school program, the teacher was actually great. It was one of the hardest yoga classes Ive taken (it was the first class) and I was so sore the following days. I am really looking forward to getting flexible and strong in that way. It is also a relief to feel sore since I have not been in a gym in over a month-all i can do here is run.
While on my runs I always past this one boulangerie named Kayser. The name seemed so familiar and I knew I had heard of it somewhere. Ironically, my french teacher informed me that that line is one of the most famous boulangeries in Paris, specifically for the baguettes. So of course I had to go. I bought my first baguette in Paris (sad that I had been there a month and had not bought one myself) at Kayser and walked home with it crooked under my arm. Oh so french. Usually I am not a huge bread person, and all the baguettes here have tasted relatively the same to me. But this one was definitely unique. It had a sourdough look and texture to it and when i pressed down it was a tad squishy and doughy in the middle. I had it with brie cheese and jelly-my favorite combination-and for the first time, truly savored what amazing bread is like. I definitely want to make that venture a weekly tradition.
Thats all I have for now, but I will be posting another blog this week. It will most likely be about my favorite lunch crepe that I have every Monday and Thursdays so I will make sure to include every detail of that savory crepe.
Check out the pics from d'Orsay!
Love Bri

Another Week

Another week in Paris has slipped by. Since I have been here I have learned to appreciate a glass of wine at a meal, the taste and texture of carrying a hot baguette on my walk home, and that every metro stop smells like pee and shit at some point of the day. Paris is full of the little things. Last night (Monday) I went to a Poetry reading held at a sweet bookstore called Shakespeare and Co. Located on the edge of the Seine, right across from Notre Dame, Shakespeare and Co. is a hidden treasure that one has to seek out in order to fine. It reminded me of a bookstore in Harry Potter (nerd alert but whatever). Crammed ceiling to floor with books of all kinds; old, new, tattered, sexual, french, english, childrens, suspense, every piece of everything imaginable.

My poetry teacher was the poet picked to read for that week, so a few of my fellow classmates and I crammed ourselves into this tiny, spectacular venue and listened. It was my first poetry reading. After this experience it will not be my last. There is nothing like hearing a poet read his/her own work aloud in front of an audience. Each person quiet and in rapt attention, the words have a way of bouncing of the walls and then sinking into the crowd. After the reading, we made our way downstairs into the main area of the book store (which was packed full with people), where we were greeted with wine, champagne and appetizers (all for free, perfect for college students). We then mingled a bit, met some interesting people, particularly an older, rotund man from Houston, who gave me the lowdown on one of the best, and least known museums in Paris.

Being in Paris, and being in my poetry class, has provoked me to really study poetry and practice more than before. After that reading, I knew that one day, I wanted to have that experience for myself. Reading my work a loud is petrifying and daunting, and I cannot help but blush red every time I have to read a piece in class. But, I am learning.

It is now February. The month of rain and wind and fog. That is one thing I cannot/ will not ever get used to-no sun. You do not realize how much the sun influences your day, or maybe I am just spoiled from living in Southern California. But I have learned one key thing about myself, I need the sun. I realized the other day that I do not remember the last time it was sunny here. Its hard to make yourself be adventerous and explore when you walk out the door and are met with rain, wind and dark clouds. But good thing I live in Paris, so I am easily distracted from the gloom :).

On a sadder note, the sale season ended this past weekend-thus I am officially done shopping. For now. I made some essential Parisian purchases: tan leather booties, black leather booties, black military jacket and the quintessential striped shirt and sweater. Now I can try and be as stylin' as my fellow Parisian women, who seem to ALWAYS look good no matter what the circumstance.

Last weekend I also went into one of Paris' most famous candy stores (it is a well known fact that I have a terrible sweet tooth and candy is my biggest weakness). When you walk in, you are automatically greeted by walls of different sweets, such as, chocolate olives with nuts inside; different types of cookies; macaroons; sweet candies; fudge: chocolate fudge, vanilla fudge, fig fudge, coffee fudge; chocolates: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, orange chocolate, chocolate with almonds, rows and rows of chocolate; I almost died. Especially when I saw the prices. But of course, I could not help myself. I ended up getting a piece of fudge with figs in it-delectable and a few sweet sucky candies, and a chocolate olive. Lets just say I limited myself from the first candy adventure where I spent 8 euros (around 10 dollars) on a bag of candy from the candy store on Mouffetard by my house. Woops. The chocolate olive was very interesting and something I usually would not have tried, but I am glad I did. I loved it.

Moving on from candy to something even better, traveling. My friends and I have finally settled down on our Spring Break plans, which takes place from feb 26th- March 13th. WOO! So here is the itenarary
Feb 26th: Paris-->Casablanca.
Casablanca for a day or two, then onward to Marakesh for a few days.
Markaesh--> Barcelona.
Barcelona for two days, then hopefully Madrid or Sevilla-still to be determined.
Back to Barcelona to meet up with friends for a day and a half.
Barcelona--> Amsterdam.
Amsterdam for the weekend.
Amsterdam--> Paris, and voila. Two of the best weeks of my life, yet to come.

I am also going to visit one of my best friends, Sarah Paxton, in Scotland, February 18th, so I have a lot of traveling ahead of me.

So there is a little update of my life so far. More to come soon.
Love, Bri