Ah Paris!!!

After a lovely weekend with my family, I am back in Vichy.  We spent Friday to Sunday in Paris, and then proceeded to Vichy for some relaxation.  Since it's a small town, there's not much to do here.  Mostly we just shopped and slept!  However, Paris was very exciting.  I'm not sure that I'd like to live there, but visiting was awesome.  I'm so glad that I get to go back in just over a week!

Sadly, my mom is not in this picture because she was taking it, but she's there in spirit!

I loved being able to see my family, even if it was just for a short time.  Being away from them for so long makes me extra grateful for the time we get to spend together.  For me, now it's back to classes and everyday life in Vichy.  I'll keep you updated!

Le Premier Voyage

This weekend I took my first "official" trip in France!  We went to a nearby town called Clermont-Ferrand.  It's much bigger than Vichy, so the shopping is better.  Plus, there's this AMAZING church built entirely out of rock from the region.  It's some sort of lava rock, so it's a dark, black color.
 

Pretty impressive, huh?  I could have stared at it for hours, but I'll do that some other time.  The rest of our trip involved a lot of shopping, an Irish pub, some partying (don't worry mom, nothing major), and a VERY crowded hotel room.  We had two hotel rooms that were supposed to be for three people each.  There were nineteen of us.  Yeah.  I slept on the floor with a blanket and used someone's bag as a pillow.  I'm a bit sore today, but at least it added to the adventure!

To top it all off, we found out that the buses don't run on Sunday (or so we thought), so we had to walk a lot to get to a tram station to take us to the train station.  I'm sure we painted an interesting picture, with all nineteen (I think?) of us meandering down the road with backpacks and bedhead.  We finally made it back in the afternoon, and I think most of us just crashed for a much-needed nap. 

I must say I'm pretty happy with my first trip in France.  Not everything went as planned, but that's what makes it an adventure!

Je Suis Désolée

Bonjour! I'm sorry I haven't gotten to post in a while.  It's not that I haven't had the time, it's just that not much has happened over the past few days.  Things have been pretty normal.  Today I finished my last day of our two weeks of French classes.  I'm interested to see what my test results will be!

Tomorrow we are taking the train to Clermont-Ferrand, a nearby town, to shop and have fun.  I haven't been to Clermont yet, so I'm excited.  It will be my first official trip in France!  Sort of.  Anyways, I'll let you know how that goes! 

Au Revoir!

The day has finally come.  Today, I leave for France.  Granted, it's 1:04 a.m., but it's still today.  After getting a bit of rest I will wake to frantically rearrange my suitcase hoping to make it weigh less (unless I defy the laws of physics, I don't see this happening).  Then I will head to the airport for my departure in the afternoon.  When I arrive in two days, I will hopefully have more interesting things to share than my favorite French song.  I can hardly navigate the subway in the United States, let alone public transportation in France, so it should be interesting.  Wish me luck!

Visa La France!!!

I was standing in the kitchen when the doorbell rang.  My French Bulldog, Dozer, sprinted to the door, displaying his ferocity with a vociferous bark.  When I looked out the window and saw the FedEx delivery man walking away, I thought, "Could it be?  Is my visa finally here?" 

I hesitantly opened the door and spied the pre-paid envelope that I left at the French Consulate for the return of my passport.  In a haze of anxious anticipation, I ripped open the envelope and dumped out the passport with blatant disregard of its safety.  I flipped to the visa pages, and there it was.  My visa had arrived, complete with a picture that makes me look like a haggard frequent flier on some sort of narcotic.  Regardless, I breathed a loud sigh of relief.  Thankfully, my nightmares of being arrested by the French police because of a case of mistaken identity or flaw in my background check have yet to be fulfilled (and let's hope it stays that way.  I've seen way too many movies). 

Anyways, the moral of this overly descriptive story is this:  don't freak out about the French police.  Oh, and also, getting a visa isn't that big of a deal.  My overly active imagination created a paranoia that rivaled the Red Scare, when I had nothing to worry about.  Thus, the last step of my preparation (besides packing) is complete!