We just got back from Amsterdam and we're absolutely exhausted. Yesterday we took a 7:25am train and got to Amsterdam around 11:15. From there we had to try and find our way to a meeting point. When I was initially trying to find a place for us to stay everything was pretty much booked. But I finally found a place. So anyway, we finally got there and it was literally the guy's house. He was like yeah, I don't have my license so don't tell anyone that you're staying here. So that is always reassuring. We dropped our stuff off and then wandered around for a while. We walked up and down the canals and then went over to the i amsterdam letters outside the museum and hung out there. It's really hard to get a good picture in front of the letters! Then we went over to the lawn and sat there for a while. Over in the distance there was a lot of black smoke so of course we wanted to see what was on fire, but by the time we got there, it was pretty much out. We walked around some more and found a place to eat and then went back to the room.
The next day we went to the Anne Frank house. The line to get in wasn't all that bad. There were no pictures inside. It was amazing to see how they lived for two years. I got to see some pictures and letters and those types of things. After that we went across the canal to have lunch before heading back on the train. I slept the whole way home too. Those 4 hours flew by!
It was another busy weekend! We met up with ISA early on Saturday morning and took the bus to our first chateau, Chateau de Blois. Our tour guide was from Italy but also had a bit of a Scottish accent so it was kind of hard to understand him. After the chateau we walked around the little town. One of the buildings was actually really weird. When the windows were open, these big snake things would come out. Well I don't know if they were snakes or like dragon things. Regardless, it make me think of Harry Potter. We got lunch from a little sandwich place which was actually pretty good. Then we went to the next chateau, Chateau de Chenonceau. It had really big fireplaces and fresh flowers everywhere. (I got a ton of pictures of the flowers!) After we walked around the inside, we went out to the little gardens in the back. It was really fun. There were big pillars which we climbed on and then jumped off. I don't think we were supposed to do that, but we did it anyway! We got back on the bus and had a surprise visit to a winery. I think we all had a little too much wine because we all got a little rowdy on the bus! It was 30 minutes from the winery to the hotel and I think my friends and I literally laughed the entire time. We got to the hotel in Tours and put our stuff down. Then we heard the chime of the train station right outside our window. It was a fun night's sleep.... A bunch of us went to dinner that night and it was soooooo much fun! I actually slept pretty well that night. Belly laughing basically all day long really takes it out of you!
On Sunday we went to Chateau de Chambord which was my favorite one. It was huuuuuuuge and again, there were really huge fireplaces. It was pretty barren on the inside but there were a lot of ways to get outside. It was another gorgeous day so we got some sandwiches and sat on the grass. Then we wandered around the grounds a little bit to find the horses. Again, I don't think we were supposed to go back to where they were.... Oh well. We all got some ice cream and sat on a ledge over looking a big pond. After that we all went to a cookie tasting at the chateau. They were so good! In the shop they had all the samples out so we basically ate our way through the shop. Oops. Then after that we got on the bus back to Paris and I pretty much slept the whole ride home.
Mommy and daddy came! Ma got here the day after I got back from Morocco. I was so excited that I got to her hotel an hour before she did. I was just sitting in the lobby then I saw her and I was like, "THATS MY MAAAAA!" We definitely caused a scene in the lobby. Oh well! It's my mommy! She dropped all her stuff off in the room and then we went over to my apartment where I showed her around. Pretty much all she had to do was blink and she would have missed it hahhaa. Then I wanted to show her all my Morocco pictures (all 1,200 of them...). I put on some music in the background and let her scroll through them. We had gotten up to my Sahara Desert pictures and I look over and mom's snoozing. Like actually falling asleep. So I made her a cappuccino and we continued to look at my pictures. Then the cappuccino started to spill on the couch because she was falling asleep again (silly mommy). After that we went to the Eiffel Tower and people watched for a while. Once we left the Eiffel Tower we went to the Champs-Elysees to have dinner. Then we went back to the hotel room because we were both exhausted. I think it was the next day when we went up to Monmartre to walk around and see Sacre Coeur. For dinner that night we went to the really good steak frites place and waited outside for a while before we could finally get in. Well worth it though. The next day we walked to Hotel de Ville and Notre Dame. And we made a pit stop to the ISA office (my study abroad program). The next day we waited for dad to get here! With him we went back to the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame then had dinner on the Champs. We actually got to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle. It never gets old. The next day we did Versailles. It was really cold hahaha. The chateau was pretty crowded but worth it all the same. We decided to get a golf cart to go around the gardens and out to the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon. It was so much nicer to have a golf cart then to walk like Chelsea, Sarah and I did! The next day we walked around some more and then went over to the Louvre and the Tuileries. It was so nice out. We sat on the grass and had some sandwiches. I actually got a little sunburned. Then we sat by some of the fountains for a while. So relaxing. The next morning my dad left for London and my mom and I left for Avignon.
We took the train and then a car picked us up at the train station to take us to the hotel. I don't think we would have ever found the hotel if we had to get there on our own. Plus, some of the streets were so tiny that I have no idea how a car even fit there. The hotel room was so cute! It had a big bathroom and comfy beds. It was tea time so we went down to the lobby restaurant place and got some tea and sandwiches. Then we went out to explore a little bit. We had gorgeous weather which is always a plus. The next day a car picked us up in front of the hotel to take us around Provence for the day. We went all over and stopped in a bunch of different towns with cute little alleyways and ancient Roman ruins. It was awesome. So relaxing too. I think one of my favorite places was when we passed a 1,000 year old church with a dozen white horses just on the side of the road. That night we had dinner in the kitchen of the hotel. There was only 6 of us there originally. An older couple from England and a newlywed couple from South Korea. We were all getting along so nice and then 6 French people came downstairs and the chef had to start making the courses all over again for them. I think the rest of us had been on the 3rd course. I went back up to the room to get something and by the time I got back my mom and our little original group was nowhere to be found. Apparently they had basically been kicked out! They were asked if they wanted tea or coffee and if so, then to go upstairs! So my mom and I and the older couple went upstairs and had tea. It was nice to talk to them for a while and then we all got pretty tired. The next morning we got up and wandered around the Palais des Papes to see really cool views of the Pont d'Avignon which is only half finished! It just stops in the middle of the water. So weird. Then we got on the train to go back to Paris. Once we got back, we went to my apartment and put our stuff down then relaxed a little bit before we went out for dinner. My mom had an early flight and I had an early class so we watched some Dance Moms when we got back before falling asleep. The next morning was tough, but I got distracted pretty quickly because I had to get on the train to go to the far campus. I miss my family!
Life has been wonderfully crazy over on this side! Finally just getting around to update my blog. I couldn't decide on which pictures to include (I had over 1,000) so I just made a video! It does have sound.
Day 1:
We got to Casablanca in the morning and went through customs and got stamps for our passports (yay!). Then we walked outside and it was GORGEOUS out! It was sunny and warm and there were palm trees. Who knew that Morocco had palm trees? I didn't. Our bus driver wasn't there when we were ready though so we had to wait for like 20 minutes or so. It wasn't that bad though. So we get on the bus and we head off to the Big Mosque (yes, it's actually called that). We had a tour of the mosque which was nice. Once we got inside we had to take our shoes off which was a little weird. Well, it just felt weird walking around a public place without shoes. At least I had socks on! The mosque can fit 25,000 people inside at one time! The men pray downstairs and the women pray upstairs. Underneath the main prayer room there are wash rooms. One for men and one for women. Before they pray, they must wash three times. Then they are considered clean. There was also a Turkish bath that was intended to be part of the social scene at the mosque, but it has never been used.
After the mosque we drove down along the water and then went over to lunch. It was definitely stressful trying to find something that I would actually like. Everyone was hounding Gabriel, the ISA director, about what was safe to eat and what was cooked and what did something mean. We had to be extra careful not to eat anything that had tap water on it. After our meal we had mint tea which was sooooooo good. Then we left for Fes which was about a 4 hour bus ride. It was about 9:30pm by the time we got to the hotel and we were exhausted. When we went up to the room I decided to shower since I was all gross from the plane and the bus. Well it was quite an interesting experience. The shower head didn't stay on the wall, so I had to figure out how to not completely flood the bathroom. I couldn't turn the shower off because it took a while for me to find a good temperature, so I just resorted to letting it hang and cleaning up the water afterwards. I passed out pretty quickly once my head hit the pillow!
Day 2:
We woke up bright and early and had breakfast in the hotel. Then we ventured off to the medina! It was built in the year 789 and has over 9,000 alleyways. It was a good thing we had a tour guide! It was really interesting walking through the alleyways. Some of the spaces were so small that you had to turn to the side and duck down to get through. There was also barely any sunlight that reached through. Most of the buildings were so close together and had tarps draped across them. You would hear, "Ballack! Ballack!" which means to watch out. Guys were coming through with donkey's and large carts. Most of the shops are family owned and have been that way for generations. Once the man makes enough money to feed his family then he will close the shop.
First we went to a carpet shop. They had laid out a ton of different sized carpets, and different colors, and different shapes. After making a whole presentation, the guys finally asked who wanted to purchase a carpet and only a few people raised there hands. My friends and I couldn't help but sing "A Whole New World" from Aladdin. The guys then kept coming up to my roommate and trying to get her to buy the carpets and the best response she gave them? "Um sorry, but my whole house is carpeted." Literally the greatest response of life. Afterwards, they brought is mint tea which was sooooo good.
Our next visit was to a medicine/spices guy. He also gave a whole presentation on the different spices and remedies and oils. Every time after he could show us something, his helper would come around and put the lotion on us, or oils, or the best thing though, was this black stuff. The guy put it in a little sac and he came over to every single person and jammed this thing up one nostril and covered our other nostril with his finger. It left black stuff on everyones face... and to make it even better, he used the same one on every person! So gross. But the stuff was supposed to help with hangovers and headaches and broken ankles and basically everything. I did get some stuff there though. I got chap stick with argan oil. Probably my favorite thing ever. Too bad it's almost out.
After that we went to a textile place. We got to see some scarves being made and the whole process of putting on the yarn and hand maneuvering the loom. The colors in the shop were so overwhelming I didn't even know where to look.
The next stop was to a tannery. I don't think I will ever buy anything with real leather again. The smell was so horrendous. We were given mint leaves to help with the stench. We saw hanging skins and pools of different dyes. Ew ew ew ew ew I want to gag just thinking about it.
We left the medina and headed over to where all the pottery was. It was weird leaving the medina and being out in the open and fresh air. Some people never leave. I can't even fathom the idea. The bus was so hot when we got on, but it was a quick ride to where all the pottery was. We went into a room where a guy was making bowls and cups and using his fingers to make different designs. He was making them so fast that I don't even know how they came out so perfect. We left his little room and went up the stairs to where there was a line of men shaping tiles and hammering them. It's crazy when you realize how much of this stuff is hand done and not done with a machine. It actually made me kind of sad. Outside there were a bunch of guys playing soccer on the dirt. I really wanted to go out and play! But I just settling for taking a million pictures instead.
Afterwards we went back to the hotel to relax and have dinner. Later that night we went to a folk show at a restaurant. It was interesting to say the least... There were a few guys on the stage playing some type of string instrument. Then out came a belly dancer that was waving around a cane and she kept hitting things with it, like the curtails and the drapes. We were like, "Um is this amateur hour?" Then she left and a whole slew of other guys came out and they danced around and played the drums and the scissors and other weird things. It was fun to watch. A few other belly dancers came out and I got pulled up with one of them. So I danced too!
Day 3:
Not a whole lot happened this day. It was a 7 hour bus ride to the desert and then an hour 4x4 jeep ride to our camp site. The one complaint I have is that by the time we got to the camp site it was pitch black so we had no idea what we were surrounded by. Plus, the lights were run on generators so if the lights in the dining tent were on, then the lights in our sleeping tents were off. Needless to say, it was pretty dark. We wound up eating around 11:00pm and we were all starving and exhausted. The guys that worked for the tent camp all had us sitting on little stools and they played the drums well into the night.
Day 4:
We woke up bright and early to have breakfast and then walk around the dunes a little bit to see where we actually slept the night before! Wandering around we came across the camels that were waiting for us all! IT WAS THE BEST PART. Although, riding camels is not quite as smooth as a horse so it was kind of uncomfortable, but totally worth it. We all got on the camels and rode to a huuuuuuge dune. At the top, we all looked like ants. It was hard to climb all the way up there. It was very hot and the sand kept sliding down. I found though that if you stick your hands deep into the sand then it's cooler. We hung out at the dune for a while then it was off to the oasis. It was weird being surrounded by nothing but dunes to seeing palm trees and a little town. We got to the pool, even though we couldn't go swimming because only a few people brought swimsuits, which was nice to put our feet in. They brought us lunch and then we got henna tattoos. After that we walked back to the tent camp and had free time until dinner. It was so nice to just wander around the dunes and hang out with my friends. There was a dune that had created a little divot so we sat there then thought it would be a good idea to bury Billy. We watched the sunset and then gazed up at the stars and saw the Big Dipper and Orion's Belt. It was so relaxing. Then we got called for dinner around 10:30pm then went back out to look at the stars.
Day 5:
This was another day stuck on the bus for 8 hours. Not too much happened. Once we got to the hotel in Meknes we had dinner and then Lindsey, Haley, and I decided to watch some vamp diaries on my phone since no one was allowed to leave the hotel.
Day 6:
We left Meknes and drove to Casablanca which was about 2 hours. We got some lunch at the airport and then headed back to Paris.
It was a long trip with a lot of time spent on the bus, but it was the best trip!!
