casey a paris

It's supposed to rain for my whole last week in Paris. It's kind of fitting since it pretty much rained the whole time we were here, except for about a week and a half of glorious weather and a few sunny days here and there. I am not too bothered by rain in the forecast since I will probably spend the last week inside museums. I've done almost everything I meant to do, except make it out to Versailles for another day trip to the gardens. But since it's supposed to rain anyways, that's off the list. Tomorrow we're going to Giverny (Monet's house) and I REALLY hope that the weather lightens up a bit. I've spent most of this morning arranging my things. It's amazing how much there is to throw away (or recycle). A ... read more

I just realized I never blogged or put up pictures about Provence. I suppose I was really busy during that time--handwriting all my papers and typing them on French keyboards (the grade of at least one of those papers paid off for the work--perhaps I should always handwrite?). So here is a short breakdown of the trip with a few accompanying pictures. Sweet Briar took us there on one of the last weekends of March (before Easter). We took a horrible, very early morning TGV train to Avignon to arrive by 9:00 am. Then, were were bused to Arles, which was a Roman town, where we visited the amphitheater and the garden of Van Gogh's mental hospital. It was the first nice weather I had experienced since leaving Texas. Really, it was beautiful there. The flowers ... read more

Approximately 15 days until I leave Paris! It's really hard to think about. I've had so much fun here. Everyday. I never experienced the homesickness that they warned us would come (so i guess hopefully that means I won't experience the re-adjustment culture shock that they also warn us about). There were times when I was frustrated with certain things, but I don't think it ever amounted to true culture shock. Our cultures aren't so different, anyway. So with only a few weeks left, I have gotten into my "last" stage, which is basically a stage during which I make a lot of plans about what I still need to do (last opportunities) and about when will be the last time I will do certain things (like last crepe). Although now that it is getting sort ... read more

I have been pretty bad about blogging since coming back from spring break. Today I will work on getting some recent pictures and some spring break pictures up. The weather here has been pretty gorgeous for the last week. I think I can safely pack away my sweaters, coats and scarves. Paris fashion changed literally overnight. The ubiquitous black tights and dark colors are nearly gone in favor of bright spring dresses and short sleeve shirts (except for nighttime, when dark colors still reign). And I have been surprised to see the sunbathers spread out over the lawns of les Invalides and avenue de Breteuil. We basically have a 5 day weekend (ending today), since last Thursday was a public holiday (8 mai), many Parisians took Friday off to create a long weekend (ont fait le ... read more

It is a beautiful day here in Paris and I am in shock. I never thought it would come. I have my window open and the temperature is wonderful, but I probably won't go outside until dinner. After 2 weeks of backpacking through Europe I am pretty content to just sit here. Not to mention I am on the internet. I was basically unable to check my email for the last week of my trip, because all the hostels charged exorbitant costs for internet use, and I didn't have the time. It was very odd to be so cut off, because even though I am thousands of miles away in Europe, everyone in the US is normally just a phone call away. Though we were sad about spring break ending, we couldn't wait to get back ... read more

Yesterday our "beach" trip was quite an adventure. The staff at the hostel told us how to get to a small beach that basically only locals know about, and I think the reason only locals know about is because it's impossible to find. We set out on the metro and then took a bus down to where we thought we were supposed to get off (but we weren't exactly sure). There was a map of the neighborhood posted (they are all over Naples, which is sort of helpful) so we decided to just follow the nearby road down to the beach which was more touristy than the one we were looking for, La Gaiola. After a walk down a long, windy road, we arrived at the coast, but there was no beach. Only rocks. After asking ... read more

I am currently writing from Naples, Italy! I am on a two-week spring break with my friends Raquel and Celina. So far, we have visited Genoa, Cinque Terre and Milan. Our Milan situation was kind of messed up because it turned out there was some huge furniture convention in Milan the week we arrived, which meant there were absolutely no hotels when we were trying to book. So Thursday night, we stayed in Genoa and spent Friday afternoon exploring the city for a few hours. We saw some great palatial apartments. (Pictures to come later--I can't update right now.) Cinque Terre was absolutely gorgeous. We did a big 5 hour hike between the 5 towns on Saturday that was sort of grueling (at least the first 1.5 hours) but was totally worth it. The temperature here ... read more

I am finally getting around to blogging about London. I went the first weekend of April with two friends, Celina and Zibby. We had the strangest weather--it was gorgeous on Friday (you almost didn't need a coat), it rained and was cold on Saturday, and then on Sunday we woke up to see it snowing! We had a very relaxing weekend there. We stayed at Celina's friend's house, so we chose to spend some time relaxing in the house instead of doing tons of touristy stuff. On Friday, we managed to see Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and the National Portrait Gallery (along with a picnic in St. James' Park and a bit of time in Trafalgar Square). Her friend Sasha took us to a traditional pub for dinner, that I think is about 400 years old--it ... read more

My computer sadly died last week, which is pretty much making my life miserable. I have 3 papers due next wwek so I've been spending all of my time at my program's office or at the library. Because the French education system is unbelievably cheap, they only have free software on their computers--no Microsoft Office. So pretty much now the tally is: no toilet seats, no Word, no couches. But they do have cheap sandwiches. Luckily, I didn't lose anything on my comptuer, since I had it all backed up. I am getting my new computer in 2 weeks, right in time for my birthday and for the majority of my work to be done. Oh well--I will need it again when finals come around in May. Sweet Briar took us to Provence this weekend, which ... read more