Czeck & SB

Mary Shannon: Ok, so mom told me to give you a quick 'play-by-play' before going into detailed storytelling! So here is Prague weekend in a few points...
----Kelsi, our friend Kellen. and I travelled on an overnight train to Vienna, where we then took train into Prague
----Friday night we showered in our very nice hostel then went out for supper, yummy beer (Pilsner), and to a bar called Harleys...where Czech motorcycle riders were partying it up trying to get us all to dance haha.
----Saturday we toured the Prague Castle, St. Nicholas Church, and ate an AMAZING lunch under the St. Charles Bridge at a place called Kampa Park...(yes, more yummy Pilsner). For dinner we ate at a beer hall, I had goulash mmm.
----Saturday night at 9pm we left our hostel to catch our train leaving at 10pm
----Get to train station-NO train. Told wrong time to be there by train agent. Told next train will leave at 1am from other Prague station, on the OTHER side of town. Buy ticket only to border from non-english-speaking unfriendly woman while surrounded by men with missing teeth. With three hours until train comes, begin to look for safe place to wait. Walk by guy smoking crack. Find place to sit with bugs in drinks, yum... Train station closes down. Kelsi and I hold knives in hand. Find stairwell to sit in. Train comes, sign says it is going to Bratislava (capitol of Slovenia and location of gory film Hostel). No one speaks English, other than to say, 'yes! this to vienna'! (Which is where we are trying to go). Get on train after argument with man who says he has no room.
----Sunday morning at 6am pull up at trains last stop: Bratislava. yes. Happen to find god-sent-english-speaking travellers who translate for us at the Bratislava train desk. Get ticket to Vienna. (Also find out that our train had dislodged one cart at the border to send to Vienna, we had been on wrong cart because no one decided to mention that small detail). Freak out because we think that train is leaving early and Kelsi is not on it-it doesnt leave. Get to Vienna finally! only to find the next train to Florence will not leave for another 12hrs. 15 minute panic attack. Collection of resources and calm. Kelsi finds smokey restaurant to study for mid-term (at Monday morning, 9am). Kellen and I go to museum to just sit and soak in the absence of Eastern Europe and the multitude of tourists.
Get on right train at right time.
----Back in Florence 6am Monday morning, Kelsi studies 2 more hours before going straight to class. I sleep. Traumatic experience complete.

Spring Break:
----Pick up mom at airport on Saturday, we walk around Florence and she enjoys her first gelato! We eat at Borgo Antico in Piazza Santo Spirito.
----Sunday we go to church in big duomo! For dinner we eat at Santo el Bevitore on Via Santo Spirito-Moms favorite place.
---Monday we take bus to Fiesole, a small Etruscan town about 10 minutes north. Here we look around the Roman ampitheatre from 1st century BC in the POURING rain and eat lunch. For dinner we eat at ZaZas with Kelsi near Mercato Centrale
---Tuesday we go on Tuscan Trails wine tour, going to two different wineries while its SNOWING! We eat lunch in the small family-owned restaurant, mmm. For dinner we eat at Il Latini, sat at a large table with two men on our left that only speak Italian, and two women on our right that only speak French. Oh yeah, and forgot to tell mom meat ordered comes on a large plate...alone, no sides. Needless to say, she looked a little nautious the whole time...
----Wednesday we went to the Palazzo Piti and Boboli Gardens. We ate dinner at Yellow Pizzeria on Via Proconsolo-I ate ALL of mine and mom too!
---Thursday Mom and I took a train to Rome for the afternoon. We rode around on one of those tour buses where you can get on and off all day. We stopped at the Colosseum and took a tour. Stopped at St. Peter's Basilica, drove past everything else because it was WINDY and FREEZING!
---Friday we went to Accademia and saw Michaelangelo's David. We climbed Brunellesci's tower by the Dome. We ate lunch at an outside cafe by the Uffizi becuase it was our first sunny day. We ate dinner at a place called Garga on Via Moro-SO CUTE and good! Mom gave me an heirloom ring for my 21st!! (thanks!)
--Packed up and back home for mom! I crawled in bed and didnt come out until today haha!

There is a quick, to the chase catch up! love you all, miss you all :)

To much Czech for me!!

Kelsi: Ok so you know how I said I had a way better story for you after the Paris one.... well I wasn’t lying except this one takes place in the Czech territory! Well here is the thing when we first got here I was so dead set on wanting to go somewhere around the Czech territory. You see I am like 95 percent Czechoslovakian and so I wanted to go somewhere where my ancestors had once been. But here is the thing. Czechoslovakia split and became the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Well I didn’t really know what area they were from and one of my family friends had went to Slovakia and actually saw a house that had our last name on the mailbox. I thought this was so cool but I didn’t get a chance to ask him where he went so anyways long story short we decided since we didn’t know what part to go to that we wouldn’t plan a trip there. Haha well what we didn’t know was we would be coming very familiar with this place in the future. Haha ok so on the weekend of March 8 is where it all began. You see we didn’t have anywhere to go that weekend and so we decided to go to Prague which is in the Czech Republic because we had wanted to go there originally but couldn’t because it didn’t fit into our schedule. So we were planning to go there when our friend more like brother Kellen said he wanted to go as well. So we were so excited since there was going to be 3 of and a guy which is safer and se we went and scheduled an overnight train cart. Ok so we got a train for a 6 sleeper that left at around 10 something that night. Oh I forgot to mention that ok I wanted to go really bad but I had a huge midterm that Monday. Ok now most of the classes over here are slacking classes but me Ms. Lucky get the hardest teacher for international management and its far from a basket weaving class my dad likes to call a slacking class. So after going back and forth and even calling the parents and asking what I should do I decided to go... I mean come on even if I did decide to stay in Florence I wouldn’t study I would find something to do to past the time so hey I mine as well travel I mean after all that is what I am here for. But I did say we have to make sure we can be back Sunday afternoon so I can pretty much cram that night for the exam that next morning at 9 a.m. Well the thing is that it takes about a day of traveling to get there and so like in Paris we got back Monday at 8 a.m. and so now we would have to cut the trip short and leave sat. night. Well after talking about it they said they wouldn’t mind and so we were off to Prague. Kellen haha let me just say is a little spaz!! He is full of energy and never sits still but he is our bestest bestest friend over here. We got on the train again with our hoodies and put the beds down ate our McDonalds that me and MSD make a ritual of doing before we go and travel anywhere. Cheeseburger happy meal with sprite is the ritualistic meal!! We slept through the night and when we woke up we were in Prague. We were so excited. Once we got there we knew we had to go ahead and buy our train ticket back for sat. evening and also get the Czech crowns money cuz they don’t use the euro over there. We had to wait to buy our ticket back because the Czech Republic is not covered by the Eurail Pass which is what we all 3 had. I had 3 countries being Italy, Spain, and Greece, MSD having all those plus Austria, and Kellen had global. This pass gets us through the borders and for really cheap!! So neways we went to the information desk and started to talk to this lady who was so nice. We were asking her about times to come back and the latest one that we could take sat. night so we could still hang out sat. Well we were there for awhile. Long enough for 4 people to leave, one to talk bad to us then walk away, and another to approach us and ask the lady in slovakian language something haha but the nice woman that was waiting on us said something mean to her and was taking up for us cuz that woman gave us a mean look and walked away!! It was awesome and I was loving my people... the first foreigner to ever take our side over one of their own. So after sitting there forever she told us a bunch of diff. times and we could of all sworn she said there was one that left at 10:06 p.m. sat night. Her english wasn’t very good by the way. But I asked her 2 times and so did Kellen and she confirmed that time, so we got out tickets and were on our way. When we were leaving the train station we saw a sign that said KONEC !!! crazy its my last name without the n and y. That part means last and well my name is never seen anywhere it was so cool to see that sign!! We walked to the hostel and checked in which oh yea MSD was really nervous because she picked it out and she was hoping that it would be good. Well she did better than good she did awesome :) She had talked to some people who told her to get a hostel in Old Town because it is safer and closer to everything. You see in Prague there is Old Town and New Town... Old Town safe, tourist area, close to everything part, New Town very bad, stay away, don’t go near!! So back to the story we got to the hostel and it was like staying at a church camp or something. There was a huge leaving room type thing with people in there just hanging out and then out room was a 5 bunk room. It was cool it was really clean and very safe feeling. We decided to take showers and get dressed for the evening since it was already like 5 something. The showers did not lock and so we made Kellen keep watch for us. It was mixed bathrooms kind of awkward I know. After we got dressed we walked around the beautiful city of Prague. It was gorgeous and so peaceful and clean and everyone was so nice. We went to eat at this place where I ordered something that my Pepaw use to make which is called beef stroganauf (not sure how to spell it). My Pepaw was the best cook ever and he always made the most amazing food ever!! He used to make these 2 dishes that the Czechs made. It was so good and it was almost as good as Pepaw’s but what can I say I’m bias!! We also had some of the best beer. Ok so they are known for their beer which is the Pilsner being the best and also the first beer that the Czechs ever made. We walked around for a little bit and then went back and went to sleep. The next morning we got up early and were off to see the sights. We went over the bridge St. Charles bridge maybe im not sure MSD will correct me if I get it wrong. Hehe We also went to the castle which was really cool. OMG we had to climb so many steps to get to the top it was nuts!! After that we went and had lunch at this awesome place MSD picked. It was right on the water and overlooked the bridge. Oh yea the bridge was in the movie Vin Diesel, Mission Impossible and some others. It is a cool bridge and it has these gothic, dark like statues lining the bridge. Oh while we were at the restaurant this really cute waiter waited on us. Haha I made a joke by saying he was my knight and shining armor and this other guy that I saw who was absolutely beautiful in Paris was called my Prince Charming. Haha I added a little character to it ;) After we did some sight seeing I had to shop well cuz since it was my ancestors I had to shop there!! I bought tons of stuff mainly for my family they would be happy to know! Haha we shopped for awhile and then we were off to go to the whole nightlife thing. Well Kellen told us that there was the pubcrawl thing at 10 p.m. so we walked back to the hostel to meet everyone for that and well hehe Kellen had gotten the time wrong. You see over here they go by military time so we are always confused. Haha so we were like oh well we can go somewhere else. So we talked to the guy at our hostel and he told us to go to this one place called Harley’s. We got there and haha wow it was like a Harley Davidson party!!! All these bikers wearing leather and some students were there. We decided to stay there anyways because we didn’t really know where else to go and we just spent the night people watching and wow was it not hilarious. These old mean and women just dancing around being absolutely crazy. Well there was this one guy who looked like our age who was pretty tipsy and kept trying to talk to us. Well as he was talking to Mary Shannon she had told him that we were "visiting my family" over here so we didn’t look like students. When she said my last name he started saying no thats my name and she was like no that is Kelsi’s last name and he was like no its mine. Well then she said spell it and his was actually Hornecny. Ok that is crazy!! He said he knew my last name and has heard it before!! I was freaking out and thought that was so cool!! Anyways the next day which was sat. we walked around and went out to eat to pass time before we had to leave. We saw this street sign that had that part of my last name on it again so I ran over there to get a picture by it and there was this homeless man digging in the trash right next to me and as MSD took the picture he stood straight up and was looking at me as I was looking at the camera. Haha it was so awkward. After the pic I started walking off and you know homeless people this guy starts following us and yelling stuff. Well Kellen starts getting behind me!! Haha we are suppose to get behind him!! Well the guy caught up with us and started talking this craziness and finally we got away from him. When we got the hostel we were packing our bags and Kellen and MSD were looking at the times on our tickets. Then there was a nice long pause followed by "the look". Ok I was like don’t look at me that way what happened. MSD says I think we might have missed our train. I was like what! No! There is no way its not til 10:06. But after looking at the ticket it said 20:06 which is 8:06!! Ok I was like lets just go there and see. Well when we got there to the station not a soul in sight and nobody there!! We walked up to the desk and this woman was not nice and she said yep you missed it. OK now im freaking out cuz I have a test Monday and needed to get to Florence on Sunday. She said there was a train at like 1 a.m. headed to Vienna, Austria which then we could change trains and get on one going to Florence. We were like ok can we get a ticket and she said no you have to go to the Central Station to do that. So we got directions, got on the metro and headed that way. Once we got there we had no idea where we were. We walked in and omg what a sight. The whole first floor was covered with bums sleeping. Keep in mind it is about 9:30 p.m. They are everywhere I mean it just looked like a looney ville. People talking to themselves and snoring on the floor. It was disgusting!! We walked immediately to the front desk another not nice woman who we talked to forever and finally got our train ticket for Vienna that left at 1a.m. OK so what in the world are we going to do until then. We first wanted to get off the first floor so headed up the stairs MSD ahead of me and she was waiting at the top when she gave me this weird look. These 2 guys were on the stairwell right beside me just hanging out well that is what I thought. When she gave me that look I thought they were eyeing me and at that point I wasn’t in the mood and so I turned to look at them and OMG they were smoking crack!!! literally had the foil and the lighter out and just was doing it like it was nothing!! Ok where the hell are we? Sorry for my language but that was what first came to my mind. I ran up the stairs and we sat at this little restaurant. We were freaking out a little bit and then we found out that we were in NEW TOWN!!! The part you weren’t suppose to be in yep we were in it... right in the middle of it!!! We ordered 2 sprites and a coke and well there were 2 bugs in mine and 3 in MSD’s. Yep pretty disgusting!! Kellen got up and was going to try and find somewhere else for us to sit because they were starting to turn off the lights and we were the only ones there and we needed to find people fast. It looked, felt, and smelt dangerous!! As MSD was talking to her dad I noticed this drunk guy just standing across the station staring at us and so I made eye contact to you know let him know I saw him and so maybe intimidate him I guess I dunno. Well then 2 other guys walked up and I was like ok stay calm and then 3 other guys came from the stairwell the crack people stairwell and I was like no eye contact freak out and where is Kellen. I asked calmly to MSD where he was and then she was like Idunno and then I started panicking and was like where is Kellen!!! Then MSD was like put on your hood. We couldn’t think of anything else to do so we put on our hoods and tried to become invisible. These guys just stood there and so me and MSD pulled out our pocket knives and held them in our hand under our hoody thinking we are protected, we will be ok. Then here comes Kellen and he says that he just got chased by a woman trying to sell herself. OK so we were like lets get out of here I mean go outside go anywhere just out of here!! We walk outside thinking we can go to a restaurant or something to sit at until we have to leave. I mean I was even saying like a hotel like just sitting in the lobby or something that is how desperate we were. We walked outside and absolutely nothing in sight!! Only huge industrial buildings and interstate for days! No anything in sight so we started walking a little bit and then I was like this isn’t any safer cuz we could get robbed on the streets because it was late and not a soul was out and then we were like ok let’s get a taxi but then we remembered that they told us not to take a taxi because they weren’t safe at all. So we were out of luck and by now we are scared and MSD is silent. That is how I know when she is scared her eyes get big and she speaks nothing! We couldn’t take the metro either cuz we don’t want to get robbed especially underground no one would be down there to help us. WOW it kept getting worse and I just kept talking it out all out loud which was prolly not to smart and was just scaring us. Well we decided to go back in the station and find a place to sit. We finally found this kind of well lit area to sit down in and took a seat. No one around except a guy with his dog and he was having a conversation with his dog! Yea crazies. Well Kellen opened up his wine tasting book and started to get MSD distracted so would think about something else. Well I spotted this one guy who walked towards us 2 times and then hid and so I just stood up thinking that I needed to be ready and if we were all sitting down we wouldn’t be able to fight back!! I mean my mind is racing with thoughts. I get my knife out and just stand up and then MSD looks at me and no words even had to be exchanged. She knew me and knew what I was thinking. We all got up and went to find somewhere else to sit and found this stairwell by the place where the employees worked and we took a seat. At this point we didn’t care in the least bit although it reminded us of a Nazi place or something it was freaky. We waited there and Kellen went and found a cop who said they were kicking out all the bums so we went down there and walked towards our train cuz it was getting closer to time and well we weren’t missing this one. We started to get on the cart and the guy looked at us and said all full. Ok my knees went weak and I thought I was going to be sick!! He said the sleeping carts were full and so we were like we have to get on I don’t care we need on this train. We started walking ahead a few carts and climbed on and found a 6 seater non sleeping cart but hey that is ok at least we were on. Kellen found these asians who were also heading to Vienna so we stayed by them. They were in the next room thing. We were getting really nervous cuz the train said it was heading to Bratislava which is the capital of Slovakia which is the place where HOSTEL was filmed. But theses asians reconfirmed over and over again that we were headed to Vienna and so did the conductor. It was a 5 hour train and we got on it and relaxed and took a nap. We would get into Vienna at 6 a.m. and we would need to catch the train to Florence at 6:30 a.m. putting us home at like 5 in the evening. So we were good and relaxed and MSD was going to run to the ticket place and buy our tickets and I was going to carry her stuff while she raced there. Well 6 a.m. came around and we jumped up and ran off the train to find MYSELF IN A NIGHTMARE!! We were in Bratislava!! OK so I talked to my mom earlier and was like haha I would never even get off the train if we ended there no way!! Ok well if we didn’t get off the train there we were headed to Hungary!!! OK Bratislava!!!! Are you kidding me!!! We lost it!!! We are freaking out when these 2 girls who are from there come up to us and are like what are you all doing here??? We were like help us we are suppose to be in Vienna, AUSTRIA!! There were 5 people to get off a 80 cart train and we were 3 of them. This girl was like no americans come here what in the world. OK we are like please help us we know we are trying to go home!!! She was so nice and translated for us to the woman working the desk and they told us that the one cart that was full that we could not get on was the one cart that we needed to be on because that one cart yes one cart was disconnected at the border and went to Vienna!!! We were not on that one cart and so we were in Slovakia!!! Bratislava might I add is the one place in Eastern Europe that you don’t go to!!!! It is so unsafe and well I felt like we were going to be sold into human trafficking or something!! Hello family heritage!!! It was awful and so this woman got us on a train to Vienna and so we got on the train and I had to get some money so as I was getting some money out of the ATM, MSD and Kellen were on the train well MSD tells the story better but the train started to move and Kellen opens the window and lets out this gut wrenching yell to say my name. Then he comes running in spazing out saying we have to go. Well now I’m mad cuz well I’m just mad so I take off running and jump on and the train wasn’t moving. It had just jolted!! Ok now I just want to kill Kellen for scaring the crap out of me!! Well we got a little laugh out and then we were in Vienna at 8 a.m. OK now we went to the train station lady and she informed us that we would have to take an overnight train at 7p.m. putting us in Florence at 6a.m. Monday morning. OK Test helloooO!!! Freaking out now yea I crying and freaking out. Well we all were. What in the world are we going to do for 12 hours? Well I found this little restaurant inside the station and I sat down and took out the books. In Austria the germans love to smoke and there is no such thing as non smoking anywhere. Smoke gives me a horrible headache however I did not have a choice! I tried to go in this one place that was all compfy but the sweet guy there told me it was for first class only!! OK are u kidding me I just need a place to study. I took a good 10 minutes away from Kellen and MSD and cried then I was good to go. Oh and then my dad called so I definitely had a breakdown with that. I mean when your daddy calls you just want to cry and freak out and of course he built me up and motivated me to study and said hey ur ok you weren’t burned at the stake or murdered so your good.haha This was very true considering the places we were just at. Haha So I sat down and studied for 12 hours never got up and kept ordering water cuz well you can’t sit if your not buying anything!! Finally 7 rolls around and we got on the train an hour early and me and MSD felt like homeless ppl. We washed our faces and teeth on the train. Ok that is so disgusting and considering the circumstances it was ok. Oh and we hadn’t washed our hair since Friday. Ok so im telling you all this because we would have but we figured would be home Sunday and well we were gross I know!! Hhaha we went to sleep fast and the overnight unsanitary, nasty, dirty, smelly, bed in the train has never felt to good!! Haha sorry if I’m grossing you all out but come on have you read what we went through. We were just glad to be alive. We made it back in Florence at 6a.m. and I seriously wanted to lay down on the street and just scream with rejoice!!! We got back and I TOOK A SHOWER and studied til my test and then went to class was the first one there and the last one to leave. I told my teacher the whole story and she thought I was nuts. This chick has been everywhere and she was like I can’t believe you were in Bratislava and I was like I KNOW YOUR TELLING ME!! And that is where my ancestors are from!! Haha I did ok on my test I think we won’t find out until next Monday but I’ll let you know how it goes!! Now that I have written a whole novel about this I think that is pretty much it!! Hey this trip deserves to have its very own blog on places to not go in Europe!!! After all this I think I have hung out with enough of my people and have had enough Czechs in my life to last me a lifetime!!!!! I love my people :)

MOM and I in the Tuscan hills while it is SNOWING

Paris

Kelsi: Hey everyone! I know I know it has been a while since I have posted anything. I think it is ok to say that I am a slacker! haha ok so Paris was amazing. We had to experience the overnight train for the first time and so that was very interesting to say the least. It was a 6 passenger cart and me, Kate, and MSD were in there with one other guy who was from Sri Lanka however you spell it. Well ok so it was very very small and we all had our backpacks and well it was just really a tight squeeze. As americans we are all about our personal space and what I have found out real quick is that you have to FORGET THAT when you come over here. I mean forget all of it there is no such thing as personal space over here. When we were getting ready for bed of course the beds were totally on top of each other and well you could't really move... it was one of those things like you find a position and stay in it because you aren't going to be doing much moving after that. Me and Mary Shannon brought our hoodies well because like she said there are alot of scary stories and there is nothing sanitary about a train. haha so not only did I put my hoody on my head but I also put a t-shirt of mine over the pillow as well. haha just to be safe! Like MSD we all took a sleeping pill and went to sleep and once we got there well we were somewhat rested. We got off the train and went to our hotel which Kate picked out and she did good. It was a good location and it was a nice place to stay. Oh and the shower!!! OMG was absolutely amazing. If you haven't heard our shower is awful. It is one of those handheld shower heads that you have to hold and the pressure well there is no pressure so when your washing your hair pretty much your freezing from the waist down!! haha ok but that is another story. So anyways we got ready for the night and headed out. Ok so I'm not going to go into as much detail since MSD covered it earlier and well there is a whole other trip I want to talk about so I'm just going to cover the basics. We went to the Eiffel Tower which was so awesome. We had to wait in line for about an hour and once we got in the cart going up well... I got pretty nervous. I mean there was like 50 ppl on the cart again no personal space and on top of that we are going up the Tower at an angle which isn't very fun especially if your afraid of heights. Once we got up we went to the next elevator which was taking us to the top and that WAS SCARY!! I felt the wind on our elevator and the windows were the walls so you could see everything!! WOW it was quite an experience!! Once we got up there it was freezing!! The wind was so strong!! OMG we couldn't even talk to each other once we were outside... the wind was actually feeling like it was going to blow you over. We literally were out there long enough to take a picture and appreciate it and blah blah blah then we ran back in along with everyone else. haha It was awesome though!! The next day we were suppose to go and meet our international marketing teacher named Mossimo at this fashion show. Me and Kate have his class and he wanted to take us to this fashion show so it would help for our project that we had to do at the end of our semester. Ok so well my teacher Mossimo let's just say he is anything but a teacher. He is a CEO of this huge advertising company and he teaches on the side. He is a little scatter brained and is just out there. We got all dressed up to go and meet him to get our badges to go in because it wasn't opened to the public so we had to have an i.d to get in. We were supposet to meet him there at like 2 or something and when we got there we waited and waited and waited. Mossimo oh where oh where can he be?haha We waited for a hour and then it started raining oh but wait while we were waiting Kate who wants to be in the fashion industry pointed out this girl who was carrying this huge gold bag that well to me was just too much! She then said that is a $20,000 purse!!! OMG you have got to be kidding me. She said that the guy who designs louis vouton merchandise designed this purse and only made like 20 in the world.... and well that was one of the 20. OK wow!!! crazy huh!! So anyways after waiting forever we decided to go and get lunch and while we were at lunch Mossimo calls and says that his flight was late and he would be there in 20 minutes. Ok so we ran over there and met up with him. MSD was with us so we were going to talk Mossimo into giving us another pass for her. Well he did and the funny thing is... is that I don't think he even realized that she wasn't in our class. haha so we got in and it was so cool. It was this huge trade show and like all these little different booths set up representing different designers at each one. It had all the clothes on display that were going to be next winter's hot items. I thought that was so cool but I wanted to buy so much and nothing was for sell well because it was a trade show not the mall! haha Me and MSD walked around forever in awww while Kate talked to Mossimo. hehe She does better talking to him then I do. After that was over and we had hung out there for a little bit we left cuz we had a cabaret to go to. Ok so I saw all these brochures in the hotel that was talking about Cabaret's and Moulin Rouge and I just wanted to go to one of these shows so bad cuz everyone says that you have to witness it once. Ok so we bought 3 tickets to go and we were headed that way. Ok so it was raining and we could not find the place to save our lives!! Oh and yes we did buy an umbrella which I was holding and well what do you think happened yes Ms. Bad Luck Lucy over here was holding it and the umbrella snapped in half!! Ok I have never heard of such I mean I have heard of it getting turned wrong side or that part breaking but not the freaking steel pole. It broke in two and went flying off!!! So the umbrella thing didnt't work out and so we are now almost late for our bus that is taking us to the show and we are literally running through Paris in soaking wet trying to catch the bus. We finally make it and of course everyone else is dressed all cute and we have massacara running down our faces and our hair wow you can only imagine that!! So the bus driver takes us to this square which has name that I can't think of right now but MSD might have it on hers. We got out to take pictures and when we were taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower oh which is what the square is known for which is having the best view of the Eiffel Tower anyways it started lighting up!! It was the most beautiful thing ever!!! Lights were going everywhere and it was awesome!! So we took pictures and went on our way. We dropped off these other older couples at Moulin Rouge which did I mention was beside all these sex museums and stores and wow yea we were pretty glad that we decided not to do that one. Our driver dropped us off at ours which was in a much safer area right on Champs Elsseys (Can't remember how to spell it). Anyways we knew we were in a good area. So we went in after waiting awhile and it was so nice. The place was set up like an opera show or something. I men dressed to the T took us to our seat served us champagne... it was amazing. The place was packed and the show started. Ok so yes I know these ppl weren't all the way dressed but the style of art was just amazing. They had everything from dancers to ice skating on the stage. It was one of the most interesting things I have seen yet. It was so much fun to go and see! The next day we went to the Louve which was really cool. Mary Shannon had to tell me about the Davinci Code so that I could really appreciate the Louve and the whole story that goes behind it. We saw the Mona Lisa and all the other famous artwork. It was a pretty cool day there. Of course it is soooo huge that even being there for 2 hours we still didn't see everything. Once we left I decided to go and shop while they went to another museum. Ok so I took off by myself who yes I will admit that I'm a little directionally challenged but I knew I would be ok. So Paris was my first experience with the metro which was pretty interesting. I headed off to the Champs Elysses to shop and well I followed the map but you see I am use to looking at the Florence map which is a way smaller place than Paris so when I was following the directions I didn't realize that I was an hour away from the street I mean I am usually like 5 or 10 minutes away here in Florence. Ok so I was a little upset but I was doing ok then I finally get there and well its Sunday and all the stores are closed!!! Ugh!! I was so mad!! So I was just going to get on the Metro and head back towards MSD and Kate. Well I got on the right Metro haha going the WRONG way!! Only me !!! haha thats ok I just got off and figured it out and got right back on. I was good I got lost but quickly found! Oh and I was also going to say that we went to eat Sat. night at this restaurant Buddha Bar which was totally awesome. All the lights were dim and there was this huge statue of a Buddha man in the restaurant. This place did I mention very expensive. And we got that point when we realized it was beside a hotel that costs $15,000 a night!!!! Yes a night!!! And then right outside the door was a porsche and a bentley!! haha but we had made reservations and we wanted to go so bad so we went in and got really creative. We budgeted real quick I mean a meal there was like 150 euros so we got a bunch of sushi which wasn't that expensive at all and then a less expensive glass of wine and we loved every bit of that meal. I mean sushi was like 10 euros hehe so we got really creative. We sat in that place for like 2 hours!!! It was so awesome and so peaceful cuz the lights were dim and it was so relaxing and they were so nice to us!! You all need to try it there if you ever get the chance. Just be like us and get hte sushi!! Creative financing!!! When Sunday came around we packed up and headed off to the train station. We got there and got on our train back and of course all 6 ppl were there this time. These 2 women that could not speak any english and this one guy who was a backpacker and well did't smell the best. We were a little squished and just got in our little bitty beds and went to sleep. Of course I had a quiz the next day at 9 a.m and we were to arrive in Florence at like 8. So I tried to study but it didn't really work for me!! I did ok on the quiz but hey I was in Paris!!! It was so worth it!! I will soon be writing to you all about the Czechs and that story is the best by far so keep an eye out!! Love you all and miss you all!! Talk to ya soon!

france

Mary Shannon: Bonjour! Wee, Kelsi and I just got back from Paris, France! It was such a GREAT weekend. We got to see and do a lot. We are also really getting a sense of what seperates European culture from American culture, and what seperates each European city from the next.
Thursday evening Kelsi, Kate, and I packed our bags once again - actually I hadnt even really had time to unpack from the weekend before so half of it was done for me. Then we headed out for Santa Maria Novella Train Station, where I only had to walk back twice, first forgetting my phone..then my iPod! So after having to take a taxi to catch back up with Kelsi and Kate, ordering McDs no.8, and validating our Eurail passes for the first time, we were finally on the train.
The sleeper cart we were placed in was made for 6 passengers. I am still amazed how our bodies and luggage all fit in this extrordinarily small place. The only other passenger in our cart though was a middle-aged family photographer from Sri Lanka (he said we should all go there because it is hot this time of year...) Even though it was only about 8:30pm when we got our stuff settled, we all realized how exhausted we were. Kelsi figured out how to unlatch the seats on either side of the cabin to make them fold down into four beds. Up above these beds, were mattresses on either side. We were also given blankets (ew), pillows (ew!), and sheets (thankfully wrapped in plastic and unused). Kelsi and I slept on the very bottom row across from each other, this was comfortable except for the head rests protruding off the tops of the folded down seats onto our bodies... Kelsi and I also both had hoodies on to cover our hair-heard lots of scary stories of shared head lice on trains, buses, etc! I also took a sleeping pill for the TWELVE hour journey, and after locking, tucking in, and tying my bag to my foot, fell asleep.
The next morning around 7am, I woke up to see the Dijon mustard fields south of Paris. It was a sight I hadnt seen in six years and was just as magnificent as I had remembered them being. Unlike Tuscany, the villages of France seem to have more of a medieval look to them, lots of stone and rock buildings. We then pulled into Paris-Bercy train station around 8am and took the metro to the Republique subway stop. This stop is where we first saw classic, magical Paris. We also were only a short walk from our 2-star PLUS hotel room. (Which was actually really clean and perfect for us three girls)!
After showering, Kelsi, Kate, and I jumped on the metro again to find the Paris su mode fashion trading show. Kelsi and Kate had planned to meet their international business teacher there at 2:30pm on Friday - I was then going to just wander around Paris and shop and sight-see - but then I decided, 'hey why not tag along?' So I did. We walked past the Louvre and Palace, through the big gardens to the big white heated tents, bustling with fashionable people from all over the world. Here, I was definately out of my element haha; I can't really relate to the woman I saw walking past with her 10,000USD gold Louis Vutton bag....hmm. We then had to leave and go get lunch because their teacher's plane had been delayed, and without him and a badge there was no way to get in. For lunch I had a club sandwich and pom fritz (french fries) with real Heinz ketchup! The girls sitting behind us were also study abroad students from Illnois, one from Paris, and the others from Madrid-small world.
Back at the fashion tents an hour later, we met up with their teacher Mossimo, wearing a fashionable sports outer-wear jacket, big sunglasses, and tangled hair. He didnt really strike me as the stereotypical American teacher haha. He's actually the CEO of an advertising company in Florence, with clients from all over in many different business fields-including the fashion industry. So even I got to go in with the girls to see all the different booths set up, with samples of each designers collection for winter 2007-2008. It was neat to walk around and see all the clothes that will be in style next year, hint: lots of greys, blacks, dark browns as usual, and a lot off different shades of purple. Also, more of the different flats (all colors and fabrics) and boots with leggings or tights, really tight jeans. Lots of loose, draping tops and dresses, lots of tapering.
Hungry and wanting to walk around a little more before dark, we walked across the Seine River towards the St. Germaine area. It started raining again and got really windy (we had bought a €9 umbrella earlier bc of the weater!) and then our umbrella blew inside out and the pole broke!! Of course! So, soaking wet, we ran into the closest restaraunt where Kelsi and I had apple tart with cinnamon ice cream! We sat here trying to waste time until we had to meet at a tourist office around 9:30 near Notre Dame. Then, we lost track of time and ended up having to sprint through the streets of Paris in pouring rain, people looking at us out of breath with lost expressions on our faces. We never ever ever look native to ANYWHERE we go. Finally finding the right streets, we started looking for the bus that would take us on our next destination. No one was in either bus parked at the location that had been directed to us!!! Thats when we realized we were supposed to meet inside the office, doors we had been standing in front of for like ten minutes while still getting rained on. (Looking at a map of Florence, when you see that a building is just one street over, it literally is. We figured out in Paris, that one street over might mean take a metro then walk 20 minutes then look to the left, and over that hill you will see what you are looking for)haha.
Finally meeting up with the rest of the group, we boarded the van and began driving around Paris. We got to get out and look at the Eiffel Tower while its lights were going off (I think it does this on the hour every hour for like ten minutes...) Then, we drove into the 'red light district' to drop off some the tourists at the Moulin Rouge. I never knew an area like this existed-I will leave it to your imagination instead of using creative imagery! : ) Last, we pulled over on the Champs Elysses (the main strip in Paris) in front of the Lido cabaret! Kelsi, Kate, and I, though soaked to the bone, were really pumped. Kelsi's passion is dance, she has grown up working and learning at her own mom's dance studio in Stuttgart, so going to cabaret was a really cool experience for her. She could tell you technically how it was, but we both agreed it was extremely entertaining with a contortionist on a trapeze, feathers and glitter, singing, stage airplane that came down from above us to drop off dancers, an ice skating floor with a couple doing olympic-type tricks, a man using just muscle to balance one-handed upside down on a pole and do tricks, a million costume changes, etc. (Oh yeah, and a glass of champagne)!
On Saturday, Kelsi and I made our way on our own through the metro to the Eiffel Tower. Thankfully this day was much prettier, only absurdly windy! We waited in line for about an hour to get our tickets and ride the elevator up to the middle of the tower. Here, we waited another 1\2 hour to get to the very top! I hadn't been to the top during the day, and I have to say it was a much different experience. Paris is much more industrial than what I always imagine it to be. It was hard picking out where the Grand Palace, Petit Palace, Louvre, and Notre Dame were. The wind was even crazier up here and we could barely stand up straight! After about 20 minutes we decided to head back down (not after I used the toilette on the top-thats a long wait after drinking a big bottle of water haha)! At the halfway point heading down, Kelsi and I got off and I had a Fanta and sandwich - just for you Mrs. Tatman!
Kelsi and I then met Kate at the Louvre. Kate had wanted to walk around Paris and find the little boutiques while we climed the Tower. There were no lines at this museum, probably because it was SO massive! It was only €8.50 for a ticket, and we also paid €5 for the audio headphones (it was €10 for the 'Da Vinci Code' audio tour haha). Then we realized we only had an hour and a half until closing! So, like Americans are known for, we sprinted passed room after room of paintings, sculptures, artifacts, and statues to find the Monna Lisa by Da Vinci. Then, we came upon this one wall, in the middle of a room, adorned with only this one painting. I'd probably have to be an art major to appreciate this piece on some level, but it truly was an experience to behold something you have heard so much about. I feel the same way about the Madonna and Child, and the Aphrodite sculpture. My personal favorite was The Wedding of Canaan, the largest painting in the Louvre, and the French royaltys' coronation crown and HUGE diamonds! I loved the fact that this big BIG huge gargantuan building was where people had lived, I imagine to get from one side to the other would at least take an hour. (And then they wanted a bigger one and built the Palace of Versailles out in the country)! Goodness.
After searching for about 20 minutes, I finally humbled myself enough to ask where the inverted pyramid from the Da Vinci Code was! haha. I had to see where the fictional, supposed 'holy grail' was in the movie-I mean, I was there, why not?? It was actually in the shopping center of the Louvre! Right next to like a Guess store and a Starbucks! So we stopped and had a caramel macchiato (mmm).
For dinner we walked from the Louvre a few blocks to a restaurant suggested to us by a former study abroad student in Paris, called Buddha-Bar. It had one of the coolest atmospheres! It had two floors, dimly lit by candlelight. Instrumental Indian music was playing low in the background. The first floor was a bar wrapped around by a balcony over looking the bottom floor where all the dining tables were set up. We had reservations for 7pm and ended up sitting there until 10 because we were so relaxed! We had Vietnamese spring rolls, these salted peas, bottle of red wine, fried rice, and three different types of sushi! Kate and I also got dessert; she had a chocolate cream-filled chocolate cake, while (since I gave up choco for Lent) an assortment of three differently flavored sorbets! A great choice on my part I must say: there were three small scoops with mango, peach, and wild strawberry surrounded by three different dipping sauces!!! MMM! After dinner and discussions on life, we decided to walk down the Champs' Eylsses then get home to bed.
Sunday morning we checked out of our hotel at 10am (storing our luggage there for the day since our train didnt leave until 7pm). We ate brunch on Rue de Rivoli at a place renowned for its hot chocolate-Angelina. There is also a scene from this cute French-style cafe\restaurant in the last episodes of Sex & the City when Sarah Jessica Parker is sitting alone feeding a big dog. Since on Sunday I can cheat with my chocolate I had a mini choco-filled croissant with a piece of toast with the BEST strawberry jam and honey I've tasted. I also, of course, had the hot cocao which was literally melted chocolate brought in a small ceramic pourer with an empty cup, and a bowl of whipped cream. I dont think I have to say how great it was! Then, why Kelsi shopped at all the cool stores on Rivoli, Kate and I decided we would go see Monet's Waterlilies at the Orangerie Museum. HOWEVER, we realized that on the first Sunday of every month in Paris all museums are free, which also meant HUGE crowds. So after scrapping that idea due to the three hour wait, we took the metro to Sacre Coure, or Montemarte. Its the only hill in Paris, and on top is a magnificent old church, great view, lots of green green grass, and a quaint village with an artist market. (It is also the location of one of the scenes from the movie Amelie-where she has him follow arrows up the hill to look through binoculars so she can put his book back on his scooter, near the carousel..which is there).
Kate then took out her map to indicate the world's largest antique market on the outskirts of Paris. Her teacher had told her to ignore the first ten minutes of stuff, and that at the end would be magnificent antiques, no trinkets or crap. So, since Kate has an interest in fashion we jumped on the metro towards the last possible subway stop. And what do you know, Paris is NOT all magical. Parts of it are real-big-city-metropolitan-scary-new-york-type-stuff! We got off that subway looking like two scared puppy dogs dropped off in the middle of an unsuspecting land! It was very industrial, crowded, and dirty. We thankfully ran into two American girl students who knew where they were going. So we followed them like 5 blocks to this big outdoor market. Here, we did like her teacher said and put our heads down and walked ten minutes through the most disgusting, cliche tourist booths filled with Ecko, Levi, and fake Nike. Only, after a few blocks it still all looked the same and the booths started spreading out in all directions...I saw no antiques! Right when we were about to turn around and sprint back to the subway, we stumbled into the center of the enormous market. Little shops lined so close together they made small alleys just big enough to walk through. The roofs of the stores (no bigger than the size of a room) on the left, touched the roofs of those on the right. It was like a small hidden town of antique booths! My granny would have a fit if she saw this! After wandering aimlessly for about 20 min, and buying a €2 ring, we got on that dirty subway and headed back towards the romantic center of town! Then- I finally had my chocolate Nutella crepe! mm. Then we headed home.
Back in Florence at 8am, Kelsi and I only had to time to run from the train station to our apt, then back to the school for class at 9! These weeks are getting shorter and shorter! I cant believe it is already Wednesday! We are hopefully already about to leave for Prague TOMORROW! I am really excited about it, but even more excited about mom coming the next week and relaxing in Florence-finally getting to visit all the museums and Tuscan area!
New Stories? Well, not really. Except that yesterday I walked out of our front door to see a construction site being built literally three steps from our apt. This morning starting at 8am there has been non-stop hammering, talking, smacking, banging, and LOUD noises! Then, last night our land lady came by to fidget with our hot water because she said it was set on the incorrect dial or something. Since our hot water has actually been really great and we've finally gotten used to our shower, its only possible that now our hot water won't turn on AT ALL! When you turn the faucet, not even a DRIP comes out. We called her about it last night and she said she'd be there in a few minutes...24 hours later and we are still waiting...
O well haha. love you all, miss you all. CIAO