This is a pretty short entry to transition our time from wonderful Paris to Italy. Bobby and I caught a flight from Charles de Gaulle to Fiumicino on Vueling Airlines, a Spain based regional no frills airline. It's like Southwest in the States. We got our tickets on a promotion that ended up costing us only $60 per person (including taxes). This was also better than a couple of other low-cost airline options because we could check in up to 45 lbs for each bag, compared with others' rules of 30-35 lbs (any kg over cost big Euros). The downfall was [View Full Entry]

---

---

Our last full day in Paris was relatively easy compared to the first two. We started at the Hotel des Invalides which is now the current resting place of Napoleon. Don’t let the “Hotel” in the name fool you. The large structure was built to house the wounded/crippled of those who served in battle. The church which is used for mass to this day was built in order to accommodate commoners and the elite without either of the two commingling. Behind the church is where Napoleon rests. It’s amazing how one person is so revered that he rests in such a [View Full Entry]

---

---

The next morning, we walked around for a bakery to buy some croissants and observed that at 8:00 am, the streets were empty. We later realized that this was considered early, especially for a weekend. After a light breakfast of croissants and fruit we went to visit Notre Dame. Unfortunately, no Quazimoto or gypsies, but we did get some great pictures of the many gargoyles perched upon the higher parts of the church. There was a quaint garden next to Notre Dame along the Siene and spent some time there admiring the views. We initially intended to visit La Concergerie (where [View Full Entry]

---

---

We arrived in Charles de Gaulle at 7:45 am after a lengthy haul from San Francisco and then JFK (New York). Caught a taxi to our hotel because we were a little nervous to attempt taking the train for the first time with one luggage apiece. Parisians drive on the right side of the road, with cars as normal as ours - though not as large, of course and most of them appear to have manual transmission. We left our bags with the front desk of our hotel then took the Metro (Paris’ expansive and comprehensive train/subway system) to Musee du [View Full Entry]

---

---

The excitement of taking a long and what we believe to be a well deserved break from the real world has finally caught up with us. Sitting on the plane, we’re perusing through a guidebook trying to figure out where we want to go and what we want to see in Paris. A little delayed, yes. Most would agree that it’s unusual for Bobby and me to be unprepared prior to such a monumental trip, unfortunately, work and life didn’t seem to bend in our favor to allow us to do much planning. Our flights were booked, lodging in the first [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hello from Stockton, California. I did mean to write earlier during the summer, but I guess I kept putting it off (like a lot of other things) and never got around to it. Up to this point I had met up with Bobby for our journey through Japan, I returned home, started working with my mother, took a golf class, hung out with friends and family, studied for and took the GMAT, applied for an internship and got an interview, returned to Stockton, and successfully interviewed at AG Edwards. You can tell I was busy. So basically, I'm writing to say [View Full Entry]

---

---

As the semester is coming to a close, this will be my final entry before I go galavanting around Japan with Bobby. Final exams are here - stressing just a little, but I thankfully lived past my Japanese oral exams. Instead of studying what feels like a few hundred vocabulary words, I decided to write an entry. Don't worry, I'll get to it sooner or later... Last week I discovered that my group member Max and I got second place in the simulated Japanese stock game I mentioned earlier in the semester... Over four months we had a 16% return on [View Full Entry]

---

---

Time has been flying by, and it's really starting to hit me that I'm done with school and finals in two weeks, and I'm leaving Japan in four weeks. Just to let everyone know, I'm home the morning of May 31st. Bryton graduates June 1st!! Congrats Bryton. But anyway, I've been starting to write out a nice letter to my host family, figuring out my plans for my travels with bobby, making sure I go out with my friends as much as possible before school ends, determining my summer plans, and still going to classes and studying like a good girl [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hi, so, at the request of Mr. Jonathan Ching and Mr. Robert Fuke... you lucky people get another blog. I know I've been lacking big time on this communication thing, but I guess I've been busier than I've realized. Well, the cherry blossoms are disappearing. The weather we've been having lately has been so odd that I wake up every morning and I have to go outside to see what the weather is like. It rains one day, then it's sunny the next, then rainy again, and so forth. It's still been pretty cold! It's already two weeks to May and [View Full Entry]

---

---

These are from when Dawn and I went to Kyoto the day after we got home from Hiroshima... we're insane, I know, but it was a lot of fun. Too bad it's still too early for hanami (flower viewing)... Can you believe that it SNOWED the other night?!?!? *sigh* This year the weather is insane... maybe it's me? Hehe... anyway, enjoy the pictures! (^_^) p.s. Can you tell the differences between a plum (ume) blossom and a cherry (sakura) blossom? Try to figure it out... unless you know, but I'll tell everyone the next time I update! [View Full Entry]

---

---