Why do all good things come to an end?

hello

It's December 20th, and a lot has happened since I last wrote...

Thursday night I got back from my last but amazing trip to Dublin. We were there from Sunday to Thursday. I was talking with Priyanka and we both agreed that going back to Ireland was the best idea for our last trip here abroad. Dublin was a great city, a lot different from Cork, but still Ireland which I've fallen in love with. We (and when I say we I mean Priyanka, myself, Mariana, Trey, and Paul) did not have much of an agenda while we were there which made it feel like a true vacation. A few hot spots we saw though were: Trinity College, the Guiness Factory (so awesome!), St. Stephen's Green park (practically the central park of Dublin) which we actually spent time reading there, the spire, a christmas market, and of course the pubs. Dublin is a cute city, but it was very cold and mostly rainy/a bit snowy while we were there. Each day was spent with one or two things in mind of doing, otherwise we spent the trip laughing, reminiscing about our semester, and spending some time at some good restaurants and pubs or warming up in our hostel.

The hospitality of the Irish (as well as the English language...) always wins my heart. I loved the small city as well as medieval aspect of Dublin. It was tourist friendly. A street we came across often was called Graton Street, which had holiday lights up illuminating the street and really getting me ready for Christmas. The city was always alive every day and night. We didn't get the Irish pasture feel like we did in Cork, but it's still Ireland, and I hope to go back as soon as possible.

Mariana, Priyanka, Paul, me, Trey all having a blast in an Irish pub.

We made it back after an exhausting day of traveling on Thursday (over 4 hours of waiting in our hostel to go to the airport, an hour long taxi ride to the airport, 1 1/2 hour plane ride, hour long bus ride and 40 minute metro ride that got me home by midnight.)

The next day was devoted to packing since Saturday morning was time for Mihee, Priyanka and I to move out of our apartment.

It was hard packing up everything from the past four months into my suitcases, and definitely was a day for reminiscing. I couldn't, and still can't believe everything has come to an end out here. I even sold back my bike after riding it up icy streets to Montemarte in the freezing weather to the bike store.

Right now I'm sitting in my friends cozy apartment writing this with snow visible on the rooftops outside. I remember writing a while ago that I hoped to see snow fall here in Paris before I left... Earlier today Mariana and I went to get something to eat and the snow was falling so quietly with giant snowflakes sticking to our hair. It was truly amazing to see this. I'm in Montemarte right now which only amplifies the beauty... Unfortunately I've been inside for the majority of the day due to the freezing weather, but yesterday I had a great day walking around the shops with Mariana. We ate dinner together at a delicious restaurant nearby. Tonight it's back to my hostel to repack my bags and go to bed. Tomorrow a 7:45 am shuttle is coming to pick me up and bring me to the airport for my travels home, hopefully stress free (at least compared to getting here in August...)

I haven't heard from many people from home lately because I've been so busy, but it's so crazy to know that everyone's semester is over, they're all at home celebrating the holidays with their families, which I'm so close to gripping as well. I look forward to seeing everyone and hearing their stories from the past few months, as well as them asking a few of mine. This semester abroad is the best thing that's ever happened to me and I will always recommend it for the younger ones who have the chance to do so. I checked my grades the other day, and I'm proud to say I'm bringing home all A's with me! Who knew I'd be able to travel all of these countries as well as maintain my school work. :-) At first no one was believing me I was still actually in school...

I am updating my photo folders right now, so if you go to the "final reviews" folder in my picasa website, you can see everyones final studio project up and hanging as well as our urban exploration projects. I hope to upload my songs and videos soon so you can see those as well.

I was trying to figure out what aspect I've improved on most while out here, and I believe above all it is patience. There were so many situations where patience was necessary.

Everyone knows how long an airplane ride takes... There's the commuting to the airport, checking in, going through security, getting on the plane, take off, in the air, landing, getting out of the airport...I've been in countless airports to get from one country to the next, not to mention the train rides, bus rides, metro rides, or taxi rides I've needed to hop on. Commuting in general is such a long process where only patience can get you through without going crazy.

Patience is also a virtue when you're getting to know 14 people you're with the entire semester. You don't realize how many people you have around you at home until they're not there. I love each person in my class to death, and I'm so glad I got to know them. Since they were people I never hung around with in Chicago, I had to learn to make them my family asap otherwise I was in deep trouble, and now as I go home I look forward to seeing each one of them on campus next semester and in the future years to come. I am in fact rooming with one of my close friends I made, Stacy, next semester.

I needed patience throughout the semester to get me through the moments I felt homesick or longed for someone who wasn't nearby. There is no more painful feeling (in my opinion) than missing someone or longing for them. The process of becoming emotionally independent was hard, and always will be, but I made it through the months now with the feeling I can go anywhere knowing how many people at home are hoping I am having a great time.

The feeling of missing someone is necessary, as it makes seeing them completely worth it in the end. I hope to continue to work on independence, as it's such an important thing in a person's life.

There is also the need to be patient getting used to other cultures, which I found difficult. As much as I love Paris, I could not consider myself becoming a Parisian, or French for that matter due to the difference in personalities (no harm in that statement, just the truth). I regret nothing from living here, as it taught me how different the lifestyle is from Chicago and other countries, and I look forward to trying out other lifestyles and cultures in the future.

Europe has made my eyes so much bigger and realize how small the world is. You can see and do anything you want to do, especially out here. I want to do everything possible in the small amount of time we're given in our lives... There are two quotes I live by that I've thought of out here.

"Life gets as interesting as you decide to make it"

and

"Life is infinite, but we are only capable of making the most of it with the time we're given."

I hope everyone agrees with those remotely, and you can live by them with me as well.

I'll see you all soon!

<3,

Becca

Two Weeks

It's December 9th. I go home the 21st. I am not going to lie, I've been extremely sad lately I'm on my final two week count (less than, now). My school finished successfully with two amazing days of reviews of our final projects, my parents are in town now, and I'm having constant flashbacks of the time I've had here. Since this is how I've been living the last four months, it's hard to imagine anything but. I of course miss and long for so many things in Chicago, but I keep looking around saying I'll be back soon. I have to.

Our finals ended very well, we had a long day of final reviews yesterday for our studio project, and Monday was devoted to our Urban Exploration projects. Some very prestigious architects came to critique/judge our work on Tuesday; some worked with Renzo Piano, Frank Gehry and Jean Nouvel. My board turned out beautifully and I've never been more proud of my work than I have this semester.

The final concept of my building is a water monument. I studied the Seine river, noticed there was a long line of monuments along the river, and placed my building near the Eiffel tower to add yet another monument to Paris' fine line. The shape of the skin of my building takes the shape of water, and the programming/movement of my building (from traveling to stationary) is almost like a wave frozen in time. The kitchen is surrounded in glass, as if it were on display in a glass case, similar to any object and piece of art in a museum. The glass panels are there to continue the movement of water along the surface of the building, as well as give the restaurant goer a contemporary view back to the Eiffel tower.

view of the kitchen on display

view from the mezzanine to the kitchen and beyond to the eiffel tower

view from the glass panels

a night shot inside the bar area of my restaurant

overall night shot

My parents are in town right now, and although the weather is awful and the museums all throughout Paris are now on strike, I enjoy seeing them, spending time with them, and hanging around Paris to appreciate my last days here. I really missed them, but I also feel like it's been two weeks since I saw them last. We went on a boat tour down the Seine today which was awesome. I was exposed to actual barge restaurants on the Seine, and got to see all the monuments in Paris I visited throughout my stay here. I know the next two weeks are going to be hard as they wind down, however I really will NOT take anything for granted. I plan to make them the best of my trip! I am headed to Dublin on Sunday with friends, which I'm entirely looking forward to. I am going with Priyanka, Mariana, Trey, and we're meeting my friend Paul again! (from our London adventures) I'll definitely tell my tales from that trip when I get back, as well as a reflection entry during my last days here. I am looking forward to seeing everyone when I come home, but for now I still have a little less than two weeks left! Gotta get as much in as I can!

B

Seasons of Love

Having my friends here is making me appreciate, love, and realize how much I know about Paris (and also don't know...oh well.)

I read a couple of my old blogs and it's weird to think I was wrong about some things and right about others. For example, I said "it's fun to try and communicate with the french". After living here for so long, I realized unfortunately that it's rather frustrating now to try and communicate with them, only because I feel judged whenever I walk into a store, a restaurant or a grocery store. I don't know what it is, but something about me just screams American, which leaves a sense of bitterness between the French and me. I unfortunately didn't learn as much French as I would have liked to, and got lectured a couple of times because of that, but I learned to be quiet and keep walking down the streets, leaving everyone happy.

Something I've absolutely loved though has been living here for 3, going on 4 months and experiencing the change of weather/seasons. It really has given me the grip of what it's like to live in a city.

In August it was hot, always sunny, and felt like summer.

In September, it started to cool down, but still felt like summer, obvious change in some shadows, but still sunny and enjoyable.

October it would rain, but still was sunny most of the time. The weather started cooling down, the fashion started changing to sweaters and scarves, and the leaves were beautiful in all of the gardens and trees. November got much colder, more overcast, and real fall to winter weather.

I can look back in all of my pictures and remember the temperature and weather (Let me tell you how nice it is now to look back on my Barcelona pictures... I was so tan! It was October and we were on the BEACH!)

I am looking forward to December, now that the Christmas lights are going up, and am crossing my fingers for one snowfall at least, to put the spin on my entire experience here. The simple change of posters for movies, plays, magazine issues, advertisements, store items has shown me how fast paced Paris is. One week we left for one of our trips, and came back to our local grocery store completely renovated and owned by another company.

The French may walk with their noses in the air (strictly my opinion), but it's been more than amazing living here... I need to continue doing this in my life; it's too short to live in one city your whole life. I like having to say I have 22 years behind me in Chicago, and I look forward to living in every city I'm brought to in my future.

Time is Running Out

Hello!

It's amazing how fast time is passing here... Everyone told me this would happen. It's already November 26th and I have LESS THAN A MONTH UNTIL I COME HOME. It's quite sad... I've adapted to this lifestyle, and I know I'll miss it when I come back to Chicago. I loved having places to look forward to see during the week/ends, and just the unpredictable things that were thrown at me.

Right now two of my best friends are here in Paris (Lindsay and Emma). I picked them up from Charles de Gaulle airport on Monday and we've been out and about on the (rainy) streets of Paris ever since. Yesterday we went to the Louvre (which was closed, but we'll go back) Notre Dame, and top of the Eiffel tower. It's been so nice seeing them, it's a piece of home that I've been longing for a while. I feel bad though, they haven't quite adjusted to the time difference, so there are some early nights here for them. I get to do my homework during that time!

Today was our shopping day. We also walked around Montemarte for a bit, I showed them the Moulin Rouge, and we ate at a chain called Leon du Bruxelles; a very good mussels place. It's been great showing them how I've been living here, my lifestyle, where I live, where I go to school, my favorite places... Tomorrow we're going to the Pompideu center and Luxembourg Gardens which I am very excited for! and...IT'S THANKSGIVING! The Horn's are throwing on a Thanksgiving dinner for 25 people (I believe they hired a cook...) and I am so excited to just EAT. I'll be sitting at the table with the family I've made out here and Lindsay and Emma. Couldn't be a better Thanksgiving in Paris!

A lot of stuff is going on at once, my friends are here and I have a ton of work piling up on me. I'm getting excited for the next few weeks though... I feel like I've done a good job throughout the semester keeping up with work and where my projects have led me. I'll be sure to post some of my final stuff when I'm done.

It's also so weird to think...I've been in Europe for 3 months. I've been having so many flashback memories of my whole trip here so far. It's so dense in terms of people I've met/gotten to know, my daily routine, my school work, and above all, travelling. I haven't seen my parents in 3 months (I FINALLY saw them the other day on video chat) and I haven't seen most of my college friends since May. I feel so accomplished though, like I've seen so much of the world. I can't wait to get home around Christmas, where it's family and friend overload. I'm thrilled for next semester too...I can't help but say I've missed school in the city. It'll be nice to come home with this trip in my pocket.

So much to do still, though! I'll be back!

-B

22

Hello Hello!

Another update from me! I'm getting through the days with hours of studio under my belt, but still so many left to go. I am in the dead middle of my studio project, and urban exploration project. Both have been making me busy and leaving me attached to my computer, unfortunately, but it's completely necessary. They told us the last month of school is dedicated to school. 3 months of 'vacationing' seems like a decent thing to come back to work from!

Something fun though happened the other day... My birthday! It was on Tuesday. I turned 22 (Permanently 21 for the rest of my life) In the morning, my roommates made us a french toast breakfast, and we headed out for an afternoon of shopping. I got a gorgeous red dress. At 6 o'clock we had a lovely evening class scheduled, but it was to watch a movie about Rome, called Fellini Roma. Our teacher wanted us to see it after been there the week or so before. It was a great movie, I recommend it to all of you to watch it. (don't forget the english subtitles) It was great to see Rome in the movie after we had seen it in person. I understand the atmosphere a lot more now; our teacher showed a clip of it BEFORE our trip, then showed us the whole movie after the trip. Good call on her part. After the movie, a group of 10 of us went to this amazing Brazilian restaurant, got the biggest portion of food I've seen in Paris, and an amazing dessert. For dinner I had Brazilian escolape, which was a breaded turkey breast in this delicious sauce, rice, and a great salad. The dessert was 'death by chocolate'. The dinner ended late, and half the group headed back to our apartment for a couple of cocktails, then it was time for bed.

It was a great birthday though, and I am so lucky to have celebrated it out here! I'm 22 and still so young!

Another fun exciting bit of news. Unfortunately, Priyanka and I decided to head somewhere cheaper than Greece, and a little bit closer for the last week we're here in Paris. None the less, we picked our favorite country so far, Ireland! We're going to Dublin this time, and cannot be more excited. It was super cheap, in an English speaking country, and well, it's Ireland. I don't really need to say more... I'm glad to explore a different part (the more touristy, busy part) and get out of Paris one more time before I get back to Chicago.

Wish me luck on my work, I have a tedious weekend coming up. My best friends get here in 3 days! I need to get a lot of work done before our fun filled week! I'll be back soon enough

-B

My new red dress (belt excluded)

do you like my tiara? Caryl, my professor's wife, bought me a bouquet of red roses

this was the sweetest part of the night.

they called me into the lecture part of the room, and surprised me a few minutes later when they carried a chocolate cake, and little cups of tiramisu, all with candles in them. It was so sweet, I wanted to cry!

brazilian escolape. sooo good!

death by chocolate

World Traveler

Here is a fun photo! recognize any of the cities/routes in red?!

click to enlarge

This map has been next to my bed since the beginning of the semester. I bought it to mark my travels... It's been fun going over with a red crayon where I've been after each trip. I hope to hang this in my room like a poster wherever I live. Maybe even frame it!

Urban Exploration 2

So I've been really excited the past few days because of my Urban Exploration project due at the end of the semester. Our final is a mapping project of Paris, basically our interpretation of our trip here. I've decided to completely personalize it. The biggest part of my trip (and life pretty much) is music; listening to my ipod while commuting to and from class, the mall, field trips, listening to music at my apartment (all of that jazz), putting it to sleep in the hostels in different countries. I've listened to a massive amount of music. My idea was to create a map of Paris with the songs I've been listening to, syncing artists, albums and songs up with the streets and routes I take. For example, it started with one of Anne's walks a Thursday morning, I was playing an album by the Arctic Monkeys. This album was completely fitting into the mood of the neighborhoods, the weather, and the route of this walk. Another FAVORITE ride of mine is from the Canal up to the Parc de la Villette while listening to Moby. I have begun to write down over a map of Paris my notes so far, and my project is building dramatically in my head.

My friend also gave me a video camera to actually take footage of my routes (walking through the metro stops, to and from school, and random moments I feel like taping)

I actually completed one of my movies last night. It is about the way I feel traveling through the metro, which feels like life is going by so slow just because I feel like I'm walking endlessly through tunnels trying to get from one stop to the next. You turn corners, go up stairs, walk through more tunnels, never ending. This video is synced to a song called "Slow Life" and is of all my footage walking through the metro. When the song picks up and becomes more dramatic during the chorus, it's of me FINALLY getting out of the metro and onto the streets of Paris. It's a slower video, but that's the point. I will find some way to post it eventually... I also plan on making some more videos of other routes, feelings, and/or chapters of my life here. My final project will be my music map of Paris, a cd of all the songs I used, plus some other good ones, and a dvd with my movies on it. The package will be put into a vinyl record case that I'll redecorate to my liking.

This project really reaches to my deepest passion: music. I'm glad I can tie that into a school assignment and make it my own. Things I've been wanting to do such as video taping and making movies, making mix cds, and designing my own album artwork is probably the best project I can think of to do for myself. If I get a grade and class credit for it, that's even better!

Wish me luck!

p.s. If anyone writes comments on my blogs, please say who they are from! I looove getting them, but sometimes when they are anonymous I don't know who's writing them :-(

I amsterdam/Roma

Hi!

I'm back. I had some more wonderful travels this past week. BUT before I even get there, let me tell you about my fun Halloween evening. Our teachers put on a really fun Halloween party on the 30th of October, leaving the whole weekend open for us to travel wherever we wanted before the Rome trip. Priyanka and I tag teamed as a costume duo... Mario and Luigi from the Super Mario Brothers!!! It was a big hit. Caryl made some delicious chili, and had great desserts afterwards. It was such a satisfying meal...She feeds us well. I've never felt that full my whole trip yet. I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving at their house :)

what a great pair.

haha...that picture still makes me crack up.

The next day Mihee, Priyanka and I set out for a roommate weekend in Amsterdam via train from Paris. What a coooool city! The whole weekend it was raining which prevented us from doing a lot of stuff, but the rain also added to the atmosphere there. The first thing I saw when I stepped out of the train station was a MASSIVE bike rack with bikes just everywhere. I remember someone's 'stereotype' saying Amsterdam is all about their bikes; I guess I underestimated that statement. It's really great though people choose to travel via bike. I think we need to take that example to other cities too...

The red light district was sooo crazy. There were literally women selling themselves in windows with red lights glowing over them. They would just stand behind the window in a bedroom with one bed in it waving at people who walked by, so you could basically shop for women. It was pretty upsetting to know that's the lifestyle of some women.

The streets of Amsterdam just like a lot of other older cities had no basic grid to them, so it was fun to walk around in the rain and just explore. The city center was so incredibly busy and lively. The overall atmosphere as I said was so much fun. People were pretty roudy too though...It is Amsterdam! Aaaaand I'm sure you can guess what the streets smelled like...

Overall it was a pretty relaxing weekend; it was also nice to just hang out in casual clothing and get a break from dressing all nice like we do in Paris. Priyanka and I both bought a hoodie and we would just chill in our sweatshirts jeans and north faces. I haven't felt that comfortable for a while! Always dressing in heels here in Paris...

For those who haven't gone to Amsterdam yet, it's for sure a place to visit in your life time.

Monday morning we took off from Amsterdam to Rome via plane. Of course the day we leave the sun finally comes out... And of course we arrive to Rome where its a torrential downpour. It was a long day of traveling, so the first night in Rome we literally just warmed up under our blankets and read for hours. The rain was kind of a bummer...

The next day Priyanka and I met up with our friend Mariana and we walked (in the rain) through Rome, touring the Colosseum, forum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and a bunch of Piazzas. Rome is a really pretty, minus the unstable weather. The first day it rained in the morning, but eventually cleared up once we got to the Colosseum (really pretty pictures). It was good to actually see all of this in person, which seems to be the constant theme of this whole trip. To see it all in pictures is nothing compared to being there in person.

The next three days were dedicated to our class tours put on by our Urban Exploration professor, Anne Attalli. Our class got a completely different feel for Rome compared to most tourists. She had themes for our walks; the first day was called A Roman String of Pearls, which was a 'walk about power, urbanism, and 'genius loci'; an attempt to approach the "substance of the city, and experience the feeling of "urban interior" given by its streets and piazzas. We covered a lot of ground, walking from piazza to piazza, stopping for gelato... A lot of it was what Mariana, Priyanka and I saw the previous day, but just walk-bys so I'm glad we had explored the day before.

The second day was called 'a collage city'; Romantic landscapes with ruins, 'useless' spaces, dream views and neighborhoods. This one was probably my favorite tour, mainly because of all the graffiti we came across. We really explored the streets, came across some beautiful gardens and landscapes, I got really into it. These walks were amazing just because we would just walk, and walk. At times even though we were with everyone, you got your thoughts to yourself (with help from a little bit of music). I captured so many building textures, doors, windows, colors, and a LOT of graffiti. The weather was best that day, I don't think it rained at all.

The third and final walk was called "A line from the center to the periphery". "Over 2000 years of architecture, from the mausoleum of August to some contemporary buildings and construction sites, passing through many time periods and styles. An occasion to observe their particularities and their distinctive approach to urban spaces and theatricality." This was the most rotten walk in terms of weather, we got rained on pretty hard to the point where we hung out in Richard Meier's art museum for an hour hoping the rain would pass, but it didn't. It was beautiful in the beginning in terms of buildings; we stepped into many churches whose decor was so beautiful and moving, I had to sit down and sketch a couple times. Not as many photos were taken this day due to the fact I didn't want my camera to get water on it...

Oh something fun; in the beginning of our Rome trip I purchased a cheap rainbow umbrella, and created this photo documentary where all I would do was just place the umbrella in front of a certain scenery, and just take a picture of it. It was a really cool effect and I carried it through the whole trip.

Overall I'd unfortunately have to say Rome was last on my list of places in Italy I've been to so far, but it's competing with Lucca, Piacenza, and Pisa, which are such beautiful parts of Italy by themselves. Rome was a hustle bustle (kind of dirty) city and I experienced it while it was very rainy, but needless to say the architecture and history is timeless, and you can't really compete with the famous historical Roman Empire. The gelato was an added bonus though :)

My trips are now over, and I have 1 month left in Paris, but I know it's going to be an amazing month. I am looking forward to completing my urban exploration project (I will have a blog about that soon) and really explore the city. It's been amazing living here in Paris. I've enjoyed seeing it through its season changing, and I hope to get one snowfall before I leave... I am looking forward to the Christmas lights being hung in the future too.

What's left on my Paris agenda? I get to celebrate my 22nd birthday next week, I get my two best friends visiting the week after that (which I am sooo excited for) then I get the wonderful benefit of finals, a trip to Greece and my journey home to Chicago.

I've been having day/night dreams about coming home, and I miss everyone so much. I'll be updating my blog still though, I have so much more to write down about my trips here, so stay tuned! Sorry for the inconsistency of my writings, but I've obviously been very busy out here I never know when I have time to write. Ciao for now!

-B

picasaweb.google.com/oolretaw

pardon the rotated pictures...there's about a couple hundred I still have to go to to rotate. I will get there eventually.

London Calling

Hello mates

I know I haven't been TOO on top of updating as often as I'd like, so I apologize. Especially since this post might be a little on the short side...I've got a midterm due tomorrow.

On another note

LONDON WAS AWWWESOME.

Man, I keep asking my friends which city they'd want to live in (of all the cities they've visited so far) and my answer back would definitely be London. (with a vacation house in Ireland and Valencia...) For those who haven't been there yet, the culture is so cool. The whole driving on the left side of the road, the 'lingo', and the accents. It's definitely a culture I would love to adapt to sometime in my life. Even their currency is entertaining (but way stronger than USD, so I'd have to become rich before I move over there...)

This is the first thing I wrote in my journal for my London trip. I get a kick out of this kind of stuff...

"So I was on the train listening to "I am the Walrus" and there was an accordian player playing in sync to the song. It was as if he was performing the song himself." That was on the train to the Charles de Gaulle airport. At the airport in London some little girl was shaking her candy box in sync to another song called "Sleepyhead" I was listening to. The little things that make me smile...

Anyway, we got to the hostel safely, but didn't feel very safe at our hostel the first night. It was run by some really weird people, and they wanted cash only for all the nights we were staying there. The bathrooms were always soaking wet, but overall by the end of our stay it wasn't that bad. The beds were really comfortable and bigger than the bed I have here in Paris! Over the course of our stay we had interesting roommates. A frisky couple, some guy who I never actually met because he came in late and I woke up early, two smelly Malaysians and an older man who wore tighty whiteys... I'm always amused by the charisma of these hostels I stay in. I come across some interesting people here.

The first day Priyanka, Paul (the friend of a friend who so kindly met us in London) headed out to start our touristy adventures. First was Westminster Abbey, which I later found out I didn't properly see it, but it was still cool to walk up to and see the Parliament next door, as well as Big (Little) Ben. Our next goal was to catch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. The place was so packed we couldn't see over the crowd of people hovering the gate at every corner. This is another part of the culture I was really interested in though... The fact they still have the guards with red coats and tall fuzzy hats guarding the QUEEN's palace. You don't see that sort of stuff in America... We continued the day walking around London, found the Waterloo train station, and got a few good photos of me in front of the Waterloo sign. Apparently seeing a play in London is equivalent to seeing a play in NYC - I had no idea. The three of us decided to see Oliver! It was a really fun musical, and the little boys were so cute and talented.

The next day was dedicated to more 'checking off the list of things to do in London'. The first thing I had to do that morning was see Abbey Road - I'm such a big Beatles fan. I managed to get decent pictures of me walking across just like the Beatles, but it was a one time shot really. That street is ridiculously busy, and I'm sure anyone driving on that street gets driven crazy from all the tourists. There were at least 5 more people trying to get the shot when my friends and I were. I got to sign the wall in front of Abbey Road studios with my favorite quote though :) The second half of the afternoon was spent at the Camden Market. Wow. This market was spectacular! So much awesome stuff there, clothes wise, accessories, vintage wear, artwork, I've never seen such a style like this. I believe I loved this London fashion even more than I do of Paris' and I wish I was able to get something from there. I could definitely get lost looking around in that market, especially since there was a whole branch of stores to discover just from walking through a regular clothing store. I for sure want to go back there. (there was a cute dress I found I keep thinking about! ;-) ) The evening was pretty relax after that, Priyanka met up with her London friends while Paul and I went back to the hostel to call it an early night after dinner since we had to get up early the next day.

Saturday was probably my favorite day yet. I booked a tour for Paul and I go see Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford. It was indeed a long day trip, but we were on a really comfortable bus so I didn't mind the travels. We first got on the bus with extra charges being shoved in our face - it was an additional 16 pounds each to actually go into Windsor castle, and 6 pounds each to go UP to Stonehenge. We decided to walk around the little town of Windsor castle and save some money, which I thought was a great decision. The town is so cute, and we walked down this "long walk" (literally) that leads to and from the castle and got some beautiful pictures.

The next trip was to Stonehenge which was the HIGHLIGHT of my trip. (We thought it'd be worth it to go up, so we paid the extra 6 pounds) The whole first half of the day was cloudy and literally 5 minutes before we arrived there the sky cleared up and we got perfect shadows and sunlight on Stonehenge. It was perfect We were only given 45 minutes to walk around (which I personally didn't find to be enough time) but just to be there was so fulfilling. Some of the stories they gave to us on our audio guides were really interesting, and just the overall experience of being on the English countryside seeing this mysterious landmark was a great experience.

Oxford was our last stop. I realized how little time they gave us at these places, only because there is so much to explore in each one. The town of Oxford was extremely busy and there were people everywhere. It was kind of intimidating too...the University was established in 1249, and they have some of the brightest scholars in the world that go there. It was fun too though...Hogwarts (The school from Harry Potter) has a lot of its characteristics based off of Oxford, so I felt like I was at Hogwarts. Dorky, I know, but hearing students talk in English accents, I couldn't help myself. The long day wore us out so we relaxed again while Priyanka and her friends were out getting fancy at the Ritz Carlton...

Sunday was Paul's day to leave unfortunately, so it was just Priyanka, myself and her two London friends. They previously booked a great tour package that included Madame Tussaud's Wax musseum, the London Bridge and the London Eye, all of which were wonderful. I've never been to a wax museum before! I got some great poses with the 'celebrities' there.

Monday we left, it was a long day of traveling because we flew in and out of Luton airport, but it was nice to get back to Paris. London was probably my favorite trip so far, next to Ireland (I just can't pick one over the other) and I am definitely going back! (Everyone is invited) Like how I feel about all of my trips, the exposure to each culture is eye-opening, and I am glad to check so many things off my life to do list. It's a shame we're restricted by time and money to visit so many places for a first, and even second time, but do what you can in your life, it's so much better than in the pictures.

Next on my list, and unfortunately last on my list are my trips coming up tomorrow. Priyanka, Mihee and I are going to Amsterdam until Monday, and then flying directly to Rome for our LAST school trip! It's crazy how time flies by, but to see where I've been in the last 2 1/2 months is really amazing. My friends and I were comparing our 'list of cities' we've gone this trip, and the length was unbelievable. November is the month dedicated to getting my work done and my final projects completed, which none the less I am very excited to work on. :)

Here are some highlight pictures from my trip! Enjoy

-Becca

Big Ben

Prevented people like me from getting hit by cars

Beatles wall, my friend wrote that "Let it Be"

Camden Market

Windsor Castle

Stonehenge

Proof for mom!

Oxford

Chillin' with Bob Marley

more pictures: picasaweb.google.com/oolretaw

Fall and Fashion

My intentions aren't to rub in that Chicago is having some awful weather, but I am practically in eutopia right now. Fall has always been my favorite season. The transition from humid, hot 80 degree weather to refreshing crisp 60 degree air has it's own personality. The fact that I'm here in Paris experiencing it only amplifies it, and I am really, really teaching myself not to take anything for granted. It's so important you soak in the moment of now so you don't have any regrets of the future. I always used to be someone who relied on future plans to keep me busy, but in order not to miss out on anything, I try and close my eyes and breathe in the air and realize I'M IN PARIS!

Unfortunately when I came home from Spain, I immediately caught a cold that kept me inside most of my Wednesday earlier this week. It was around 5 pm, I was feeling slightly better, when I decided that I refused to lose a day in Paris because of this stupid cold. I dressed up cute, took my bike and did one of my favorite rides down the canal. [Riding bikes here is such a blast in Paris. Since they have bike lanes, and there's no traffic in them, just your occasional pedestrian who is just asking to get run over, the rides are smooth especially when you're going downhill.] I took my bike that day to the Parc de la Villette and took some pictures of the funland.

I liked that outfit so I took a picture of it!

I discovered this park a couple weeks ago after one of our Urban Exploration walks when I was on my own. It was designed by Bernard Tschumi and I was taken aback by it so much for some reason. The park is accented by the building's bright red color, and just the huge size of the park made me want to do somersaults on my bike. There were so many children there the 2nd time around, I couldn't help but take some cute pictures while they were in their own little worlds playing. When I got there my battery exhaustion light was flashing on my camera, so I could only explore one half of the park, so now I get to go back again! Plus theres a bookstore there I would love to check out. I am obsessed with bookstores.

I love the bright red of the buildings.

makes you wonder whats at the end of the bridge, no?

haha, I'm such a creep but this kid was sooo cute and he was coming right at me so I had to move out of the way for him.

I think it was the Urban Exploration walk we had this Thursday that really made me excited for this weather. As I said, we were all so used to the 80 degree temperature from Spain. The walk was called "A String of Pearls" which focused on the 'jewels' of Paris, like mansions, palaces, gardens, etc. We arrived at Place de Vosges in the 4th arrondissement, which was a courtyard designed by a King in the 1600's. We were all so cute dressed up in our fall jackets, scarves, hats and boots. The sun hit everything so perfectly like it always does in mid-October. Of course we arrived there and were freezing our butts off, and the entirety of the walk was focused on staying in the sun, but it was such a glamorous way to view the city. We passed by so many [expensive] boutiques I was so tempted to walk into and by a couple of schools, which for some reason is so fun for me to see all the young French students here. Our teacher brought us to a couple of round about 'places' with statues in the middle of kings or soldiers lost in wars, and a giant one near the end of the walk with your classic designer stores wrapped around it such as Dior. We walked through a park, saw the most beautiful carousel, little girls riding ponies [yes I wanted to ride one too], and ended up looking over the Obelisk near the Louvre with the Eiffel Tower in the distance. It was a great walk after being sick and coming back from Spain, and I am so looking forward to the second half of my trip here.

Place de Vosges

Love is in the air...

This was the window to a perfume store. The top started out as just a clear window but it gradually was a gradient of the prettiest shade of pink down to the bottom of the facade.

Pretty carousel near the Louvre/Obelisk

Oh and my birthday is in a month! I am so excited! There's still so much to do here ahead of me... My roommate Priyanka and I have our list of places to go in the last few free weekends we have left here.

-London (fall break)

-Amsterdam (Halloween weekend)

-Rome (last class trip, beginning of November)

-Prague (weekend before my birthday)

Then my two best friends Lindsay and Emma are visiting me during the week of Thanksgiving, the next two weeks are devoted to my finals, and then my parents are visiting me! I have about 10 days to kill before I come home to the states, so that will be a mixture of my parents' visit, packing up/cleaning our apartment, and taking my last and final trip to....the Greek Islands [Mykonos]! It's sad to see my trip has already reached its midpoint, but that doesn't mean it's going downhill. I am so excited to see what is in store for me the next few weeks, and then I get to come home and see everyone. I miss everyone so much and wish I could share my experience physically, but I guess that's what this blog is for in terms of sharing =]

Please send me emails and comments of how everyone is doing and if there are any exciting updates. I miss you all! My email is oolretaw@gmail.com

oh and one more thing. Fall is the best season for fashion, especially here in Paris. I've been obsessed with looking at fashion on websites. It inspires me to be creative with my wardrobe, which I definitely have been trying to do.

http://lookbook.nu/ and http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/ are my most inspirational websites to look at. Check them out; fashion is such an art! That's one more area of my artistic ability I'm trying to become an expert at!

Band recommendation: Badly Drawn Boy. I can't stop listening to them right now. [along with the Jazz of course... Frank Sinatra knows what he's talking about]

Currently reading: Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami. It was a recommendation from one of my friends here, originally written in Japanese. It's really good so far, I wish I had more time to read it!

Love always,

Becca

Espana!

I apologize for the delayed blog post, but the Spain entry is finally here!

Side note: Okay, I'm not gonna lie, I still cannot turn the jazz music off. I discovered the iTunes online radio, and you can choose whatever genre you want. Of course I chose the vocal jazz station, and I seriously cannot turn my own music on anymore. I loooove Jazz! If you have any I can borrow or let me burn to my computer when I get home, I will be more than happy to accept that.

Anyway. I'm back from Spain! What a magnificent trip. Unlike my Berlin trip, where I was getting homesick for Paris, I did NOT want to leave Spain... I luckily wrote notes about each day in my little journal I keep with me so I wouldn't forget what I did each day. I'm just going to give a few sentences of each day so I don't have to publish an essay here on my blog....

Day 1: "checked into hostel, cool interiors, checked out food --> hungry, tapas bar! broken egg + potatoes w/ garlic, huge meal! sangria :)"
haha, my notes are so thorough... basically we checked into our hostel, which was reallly cool inside. very suitable for young students traveling in Barcelona. of course we were all hungry and scoped out some food to eat, and there's nothing like a real Spanish meal like tapas. It was so delicious...I got patatas braves with this excellent garlic sauce, along with something they call a broken egg. It was sooo good. It was really nice too to get such a large portion. I was beginning to starve here in Paris, since you pay so much for such little portions. The waitress literally came out with a giant wok/bowl of egg, chicken, and fries. I really miss the food in Spain... Oh... and yes, the sangria part. Our hostel had the most delicious sangria on tap (yes) and you could get a .75 litre cup of it for cheap. Please, have some sangria when you go to Spain. Definitely worth your while.

our hostel hallway

broken egg! tasted better than it looks

sangria!

Day 2: "check out, crappy breakfast, train station to Valencia, missed 11 am train, hoping to make the beach"

okay, that day was the start of our weekend in Valencia. our hostel so kindly offers a free breakfast, however the cereal tasted like dusty air, the juice was like watered down orange flavoring, and the milk was sitting out on the counter, hotter than the temperature outside. We had to catch an 11 am train to Valencia, which we unfortunately missed, but luckily there was one an hour later. The train ride to Valencia was probably one of the most relaxing commutes I've ever had. It was 3 1/2 hours, but the whole time I either read or stared out the window over the Mediterranean sea. At one point my music synced up to the poles we kept passing in the train. The simple pleasures in life... Yes, we made it to the beach, and had to meet up with the architecture school in Valencia for a tapas dinner (which took about 3 hours), but we got to meet our Spanish partners in our group for the charette/competition we had the next day.

My view most of the way to Valencia on the train

Roomies at the beach in Valencia (Priyanka, Mihee, Me)

Dessert after dinner. Me and my friends devoured this in about 4 minutes.

Day 3: "charette!"
Ah yes. 9 am started the charette at the University of Valencia architecture school. A group of 5 of us (2 from IIT, 3 from Valencia) spent allll day working on a problem assigned to everyone. They gave us an existing site in Valencia to remodel into a restaurant/cafeteria. I left out part of my notes which said my group won 2nd place out of 7 groups! yayy!

IIT: Me, Mariana

Valencia: Jordi (green), Daniel (blue), Eduardo (black)

2nd place winners!

Day 4: "Calatrava, Beach! Train, sunburnt"

This was the day after the Charette, and the wife of the professor in charge of the charette took us on a tour of the Ciudad de las Artes y Las Ciencias, all designed by Santiago Calatrava. It was an interesting stretch of buildings....Architecturally my favorite building ever is the Milwaukee Art Museum by him, so it was good to see some more of his work. I have to say the MAM is still my favorite, but there was a bridge there in Valencia that looked a lot like the suspensions back in Milwaukee =] It made me all giddy and happy. After walking around the Ciudad, a couple of friends and I decided to hit the beach again in Valencia until our train ride back. I got plenty sunburnt, but it was such a great feeling to be at the beach in October while hearing everyone complain about Chicago's wonderful fall weather! We made it back to Barcelona a-okay, had some sangria to celebrate, and went to bed.

Calatrava

reminds me of the Milwaukee Art Museum!!

Me at the Mediterranean

Side note: as I may have mentioned in my previous post, before we even left for Barcelona, our professor split us into 3 teams to create an itinerary for the 3 days we had tours there. It was our responsibility to create a tour for a Mies/Expo/Old Town day, "Shoreline" day, and "Gaudi" day.

Day 5: "Barcelona Pavilion, so hot, olympic stadium, lunch @ Ramblas, sangria with the Horns, shopping w/ Pri, pass out"

That day was the start of our actual school trip tours through Barcelona. We usually spend 3 days in the actual city with our class and the title was "Mies/Expo/Old Town"...or something like that. We started off at the Barcelona Pavilion, the building the architecture program practically drills into our heads from day one at IIT. I've already been to it about 3.5 years ago, but being in Barcelona again with 3 years of architecture school behind me really made me appreciate my surroundings, especially that building. It was sooo hot that day... We continued up to the Olympic stadium, down to the old part of town, Las Ramblas, and ended with sangria with our professor and his wife at their hotel. Very yummy. That night was my shopping night with my roommate. It's amazing how expensive Paris was. My roommate found a pair of shoes she wanted for 20 euro less in Barcelona...Definitely made me hesitant to shop in Paris the rest of my stay here. I miss the prices of Barcelona!

Day 6: "shoreline, beach"

This was a really good tour put on a group of our students. It was focused on architecture down the shoreline of Barcelona. It was a really beautiful day, and the group gave us an extra couple of hours during our break, so of course, myself and two others headed straight to the beach. The tour continued a few hours later; we hit the Gehry fish, a really interesting hotel that was completely cantilevered on one side, the park designed by Jean Nouvel, and eventually we ended up at this giant solar panel right at the shore. It was a long day of walking, especially back to the hostel, but probably one of my favorite days of my trip. (I apologize for the lack of knowledge of the names of any of these buildings, but you can definitely check out my pictures of the entire day.)

Gehry fish

friends at Jean Nouvel park

Day 7: "Gaudi day!"

Ah yes, saving the best for last. This was my group's tour! You can't go to Barcelona without visiting any of Gaudi's buildings... I seriously want to skip to the best part... Okay, well we walked down the main street with a lot of Gaudi's buildings, like Casa Battlo, Casa Mila, Casa Vicens, made our way up to Park Guell (amazing)...

THEN. At 4 we had a tour of Sagrada Familia thanks to a couple of students who know just the right contact. This was not your ordinary Sagrada tour...None of us really had any idea how in depth we would get to see this spectacular building by Gaudi. We were handed construction hats at the very beginning, were let into a gated construction area while other tourists were watching us, with extreme envy in their eyes. We got to see windows which were still in need of work while they contrasted with its neighboring windows who had the most beautiful patterns of stain glass already inserted in them. Of course we continued to a very, very tall elevator. This is when my stomach flipped; I realized we were going up this very tall elevator... then I remembered how terrified of heights I am...

Up we went, close and personal to some of the towers that were already built on the Sagrada Familia. It was so breathtaking and unreal to be up there. I looked at the girl who booked us this tour and just smiled, I couldn't believe it. Of course I was completely freaking out too, but that's beside the point. You could look over the narrow railings over Barcelona and what has been completed so far of this very complex cathedral.

Yeah, we kept going up, (it took me some convincing by peers to keep climbing the see through stairs and scaffolding, but we made it to the highest point of construction, where the last tower is to be built. It was really cool, because about 20 feet from the ceiling was a wooden floor for construction workers to walk around. After the last tower is to be built, the floor is going to be removed, and no one else will be able to get as high as we were. You'll be able to look up at the star/flower patterned ceiling, but unless you know how to fly, good luck getting up at that point! I couldn't believe where I was at that moment, I took about 100 pictures in 30 minutes. That was my favorite part of the whole trip, and I'm so glad I didn't chicken out and stay down lower while everyone else explored. I know now my goal is to be alive when the Sagrada is finished (along with seeing the Cubs win the world series....) but who knows when either of those will happen.

Casa Mila

Parc Guell

beautiful stained glass at Sagrada

construction hats!

very tall elevator

view from the very tall elevator

this is my "I'm on top of the Sagrada Familia but I'm not going to look down" look

Group photo!

some friends and I at the center of the building, 20 feet from the ceiling. this is the floor that will be removed once the tower is finished and no one will be up there again!

Another highlight of my trip was meeting up with an old middle/high school friend, Cat Weitzenfeld. She is studying abroad in Barcelona this semester, so we met up a couple of times, and she tagged along on our awesome Gaudi tour. Her stomach was flipping as much as mine was!

That Friday was our last day of the 3 day class tour, but a lot of us stayed until Monday morning. We basically just chilled around Barcelona, went to the beach, went shopping, got some pretty jewelry from this sterling silver jewelry store =] I got a ring from there last time I was in Barcelona, and I wear it every day still. I had to get something else! It was hard leaving Barcelona, because of the weather (80's and sunny), the prices that were much cheaper than Paris, and knowing Spanish. That was so relieving to remotely understand people around me and be able to converse.

A scary part of Barcelona though were the massive amount of pick pocketers. We unfortunately witnessed so many, which made me really paranoid everywhere I went. I actually felt safer coming back to Paris, although of course still just as cautious.

We came back to 60 degree, perfect fall weather, and unfortunately I caught a cold and had it for 2 days, which is why I have been so behind on updating this blog.

Anyway, my next trip next weekend for our fall break is to London! I am going with Priyanka and I am SOOO excited! I hope to visit Abbey Road, the Waterloo metro stop, Stonehenge, your basic site seeing, and of course, Chipotle. Someone told me they opened a Chipotle in London, and when I hear that word, I'm on the prowl. I am meeting a friend of a friend there who I've never met but will be with us the whole weekend, so it will be fun to meet someone new and have a fellow tourist by my side too. That reminds me... I still have to book my ticket...

So much for not posting an essay... Au revoir, and I will be back soon, hopefully, but for now it's time to work on my midterms for next Wednesday!

OH! I updated my photo website. You can see all my Barcelona/Valencia pictures. They're sorted in different albums so its easy for you to figure out. Take care!

http://picasaweb.google.com/oolretaw

-Becca