day 25!?

Wowowowowowow
So much to say and so little time
Just got to Munich from the Swiss Alps (both hotels do not have internet). Amazing.
I would love to chach you all up but I'm eating the best salad of my life AND I have to work on history.
No worries I'll write a nice long blog soooooon enough.
OXOXOX
kate

Day 19 - half way!

Strasbourg is so lovely that I've been too busy to post! It is not like there is a lot to see, there is just lots of school work again. Today we have our trails to present and I still have lot of work to do. Organizing my ideas and such. But first- let me tell you about the past few days!

Strasbourg is a little French town, but it has been passes back and forth from France and Germany many times. Due to this fact, you can get sausage and a baguette on the same block. It also has an interesting mix of architecture that keeps things interesting and pretty.


Stasbourg's biggest thing is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame.

Stunning. The most gothic of gothic cathedrals there is! Last night we were lucky enough to catch the light show that they put on every night. The cathedral is lit up in all these differnt ways to classical music and sometimes even a choir. It was cool but really creepy at parts.



Crazyness.

As I said we've all been busy and such. Today though I had a quick moment to stop by a gift shop and pick up a little something I've been eyeing ever since we arrived here...

Beacause I do heart Strasbourg.

Mah. I should really try and work on this trial thingy. Oh procrastination, at least I got a blog in right? We leave tomorrow for the Swiss Alps! This is all going by so fast!
Love and miss you all tons!

xox Kate

ps. I'm sloooowwly getting better

pps. Here are 2 extra pictures which I like :)


Walking back from a lecture



For some reason there are alot of carousals in Strasbourg

Strasbourg is so lovely!

I've been here less then a day and I'm already in love with Strasbourg!



xoxo Kate

Monday... day 16!

Travel day! We're off to Strasbourg... and I don't think we get internet there so this might be goodbye for a short while. No worries though because as soon as I find a hot spot I'll let you know what's up!

Still sadly sick,

xoxo Kate

So?

No Versailles for me.

Saturday and some of Sunday

Well hello again everyone! I have some fun stuff to update you all on but first let's go over yesterday's day.

Saturday
Woke up and walked to the Louvre. Checked out Napoleon the 3rd' s apartments and the other classics ie...

her.
The little group I was walking around with all felt tired and in need of sustenance, so we decided to splurge at a cafe in the Lourvre! We had such delicious croissants and hot chocolate...

waiting...

Mike doesn't like waiting...

Yay!

Ready?

yum!

allllll done!

It was a day of art because after the Louvre we all headed over to the Pompidou/giant hamster cage of modern art:


There was some really awesome stuff there...and then some really weird stuff. Mostly awesome though!

And just when you think things can't get any more arty...
It just so happened that there was a Richard Avedon photography exhibit taking place in a gallery in the Tuileries gardens. I of course went, seeing that he is my fav photographer. I loved it. Simply brilliant and stunning. Amazing.

Remember how I mentioned that dinner swap thingy earlier? Well becuase my room cooked first, the boys roomed cooked dinner for us that night. I must say that I had my doubts but they pulled it off! They even set up the table on their terrace type thing.

I was impressed.

Sunday/Today!
Everyone is at Versailles today! They left early this morning to catch a train. And me? I woke up with my eye lid stuck shut.. pink eye (I'm so good looking right now). I'm also still sick so the teachers called in a doctor and he prescribed me 4 different things. I'm currently stuck in the hotel waiting to be told if I can go or not. But all is not lost! I can spend my time lazing around and watching things like this...


I'll keep you updated!

xo Kate

ps. I think it's cute that our rooms are all so close together!


pps. Sorry about being so photo happy

the update of the week!

Sorry that my blogging hasn't really been up to snuff lately. Paris is sooo busy!!! Mucho school work and projects etc. Tis crazy. Anywho here's a little update on my week thus far...

Monday

Bastille day! After our lectures in the morning, I walked around the Champs Elysee and went shopping! Being a holiday, it very busy and crowded but I managed to find a cute little black dress at a decent price. It pretty much is Audrey Hepburn's Breakfast at Tiffany's dress. I love it. Pictures soon!!! Dinner was a picnic in the Tuileries gardens with two other MEI groups, English Through the Ages and Trek 1! I spent the night chilling and catching up with Michael Brown and Patricio Gomez, both charming gentlemen. They have become amigos and they both told me of how they are loving their trip too. I'm pretty sure that our two trips will end up bumping into each other again soon. The night ended with fireworks. Yay!

Tuesday
Catacombs! Amazing and creepy but holy moley it was a long walk early in the morning! Planning for the gr 12 Extravaganza project in the afternoon. Preetttty much.

Wednesday
We went to see some pendulum thingy that one of our teachers couldn't shut up about. I didn't think it was that amazing but whatever. The res of the day was planning and prep for the Extravaganza and then that night was the performance. Oh yes I should tell you that this Extravaganze thingy was a production type show we had to organize, write, and put on for the teachers and gr 11s...in 2 days?! Well we pulled it off. it was called "Awake in a Dream" (I came up with the title) and we were all either good or bad fairies. Still confused? Ask me about it and I'll tell you about it in all its awsome ness. Did I mention that is was again at the Tuileries having a picnic? Yummy!

Thursday
Yesterday! We had our lectures outside the Palais Royal in the gardens, then went over to the Musee d'Orsay. Orsay is filled with artists I love- Monet, Van Gough, Degas and many more! After dinner that night we planned to go to the Louvre but to my dismay it was closed. Some of us opted for crepes and then headed back to the hotel for bed. This is the day I started to get sick.

Friday (today!)
I woke up feeling a little better as we walked to the Eiffel Tower this morning. We took some pictures, then took the elevator up to the 2nd level (3rd level was way to busy), and then took more pictures.
In the afternoon we went to go see Napoleon's tomb then the Rodin Museum, which is one of my favs! Rodin is that guy/brill sculptor who crafted this nifty piece of art...

look familiar? If not well it's called The Thinker and is just a peek at some of the emotional driven work that Rodin created. Plus there's a lovely garden with yummy sorbet as part of the gallery.
We had the rest of the day off until 8 (dinner time) to do whatever we wanted so me and a few other quickly dashed to get some laundry done. To put in plainly, a group of us have been meaning to do laundry since Monday... today is Friday. Yeah. All my clothes are done and clean now though so YAAAAAAY! Tonight and tomorrow we are doing a swap dinner so we cook one night for ourselves then someone else then tomorrow vise versa. Tonight we were drawn to cook dinner for the only 2 boys on our trip, and might I say I'm prettttty proud. Did I cook it? Sadly not. But still! Delicious! The appetizer was bread veggies and dip and then the mina course was cooked potatoes, beef with gravy, broccoli, and salad. Oh and dessert? WARM BROWNIES AND COOKIES AND NUTELLA FONDUE WITH FRUIT! I love life.
It is currently 11:11pm! Make a wish!
..........................
But yes it is getting later, and I'm starting to feel not so great heath wise. I also have many readings to do. Ack!
Tomorrow the Louvre and Pompidou! So excited!
Goodnight everyone (well good morning or good afternoon depending on when you read this)
xoxo Kate

ps. pictures soon I promise!!!!

Paris?

So much school work. It's sooooooo busy. Beautiful - but busy,
Longer update soon once I have time to chill.

xo Kate

Paris, je t'aime!

Just got into Paris!!!!!!!!!

check my flickr for a few photos!!!!

Sooo tired...
talk to you later

xo Kate

What happened that McDonalds day?

Well! In the morning there was a lecture near Big Ben which was interesting as usual. After that nutritious McDonalds lunch, we went over to the National Art Gallery and wrote our "Morning Note" on a piece of art we chose. I chose this one...
Lovely eh?

An then last night?! AVENUE Q! Yep! Me and four others went out for a delicious (tapas like) dinner and then hopped across the street to see Avenue Q. We got the tickets earlier that day at the TKTS stand thingy for half price.

I LOVED IT!!!!!!!

Ack I must go into the British Museum now! I have maybe been writing this during a lecture and I must go if I don't want to get caught!

xxoo
Kate

by the by

I went to a McDonalds to get internet and yeah yeah I know but here's the real kicker...
They were playing music videos by the Clash on the TVs. I know.

Yesterday...was day 5

Yesterday it FINALLY stopped raining!!!! I wore SHORTS for the 1st time!!!! Ah-maze-ing.

The day started off with a charming lecture outside accompanied by coffee and tea. That afternoon my and 2 other delightful girls deiced not to go to the London Eye, but to walk about downtown and hit up the Nation Portrait Gallery where entrance is free! There was some beautiful photography in the contemporary section; it gets up dated quite often! If you have never been to London before or you're planning on going, the Portraint Galley is my fav and should be your fav too. Then again I've yet to visit the Tate (tomorrow perhaps?).

We met up with the rest of the group at a neat thia chain comon around London called Wa....gaa.. okay I forget what it is called but the food is soo good! I got Ginger noodles and it came with free green tea! Yay for free nesss!

With bellies full, we walked across the street to the modern but really old Globe theater to watch a Midsummer's Night Dream! To make it extra authentic, we had to stand the entire time. Yeah. Remember Shakespeare times when the peasants and such all stood in this pit type thing. That was us. Luckily the show was bright fun and cute and even though we waked away with sore backs and feet, we also walked away with smiles on our faces and laughter ringing in our ears.

Today is Friday- Day 6 and I'm currently have lunch!

Talk to you later,
xooxx
Kate

Bloody Mary!

Rain rain and more rain folks!

The Tower of London is such an interesting place too see, but a little sun would have made it a tad more enjoyable. What brightened our day instead? Our lovely tour guide Dan. If only all men had cute accents and wore cute outfits (i.e. boots with zippers)!

After our rainy walk throughout the ground where King Henry the 8th and his many wives/lovers/friends/enemies once walked, we headed back to the hotel to finnish our rant assignments. We spent much of our time procrastinating and wishing it wasn't raining. A quick dinner stop at a nearby place called "The Muffin Man" served as a lovely little food spot with a lovely little panini sandwich.

Rant time! We all presented our rants and the teachers treated us with cookies and candy! Yummy! I was super impressed with everyone's rant and every did a decently good job. I ranted about how being called "emo" has become a dis and how people how aren't emo at all are being called emo. Emo topic I know. Lol.

I just made some nice herbal tea and I'm going to read tomorrows reading then head to bed! Tomorrow we're all seeing A Midsummer's Night Dream (love it!), but apparently we have to stand the whole time like people would have way back (don't love it!). Oh and those pictures? Pretty much I can't find the cord thingy to import my pics on...and no one else cord thingy works with mine....I hope I find it soon!!!

xoxoxox Kate

Day 2? Oh I mean day 3!

Things are all going by so quickly! I suddenly feel like I've been here forever; cosy and at home!

Yesterday after my little nap we all went for dinner together at this Indian type restaurant. Although I don't usually adore spicy food it was pretty good! After dinner the group headed back to the hotel and all crashed into bed. I'm rooming with a lovely girl named Amanda who is from Vancouver. It's a tad strange because we are both very alike in many ways, but it works out cus there is no fighting over music and such!

We both woke up today around 7:30 am and after getting ready headed downstairs for breakfast.
Oh hotel breakfasts, why are you all them same?
It was the usual eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, cereal, danish, juice, coffee, and tea deal. Trust me when I say that I'm not complaining- I'm quite the breakfast fan actually!

Next up? 1st lecture! We walked over to a nice park that would have been a little nicer had it not been raining, but oh well! We wrote our morning notes (little diary journal things we write every morning with a given topic), and then headed for shelter. My history teacher is Nathan, a funny and nice guy who was on the MEI Italy trip I went on last summer. The lecture was so interesting and has got me even more excited for the rest of the trip! After the history lecture we all had a quick english lesson thingy about rants. We must present a rant tomorrow with passion that we care about...and well...I've yet to start. I know what I'm going to rant about though! My topic will be how I cannot stand it when people refer to anyone involved in the arts as emo. Emo topic, I know! :P

Funny thing I wish I got a picture of? Peacocks! Just strolling around the park and distracting us during our lectures!

Note: Oh yeah those pictures.... I promise to upload them tomorrow! You must understand that I'm rathe busy though, but I am working on it... :)

Back to the day! A quick lunch of potato wedges and a salad filled me up after my mini shopping excursion to American Apparel. Yes yes I know but quite frankly I didn't pack enough sweaters and I've been freezing lately. I harnessed this opportunity to grab one of their classic zip up hoodies. I got a nice forest green one and you better love it cus...it cost money.

Hm I should really rap this up! It is 1 am here and I still have to start organizing and practicing my rant! Me and a few others went to look at Buckingham Palace and planned to work on our rants after, but we ended up chilling in the near by park people watching. Most of the people we saw were either asleep or hooking up. Good times?

Dinner tonight was up to us and I found my self having dinner an italian type restaurant. I settled for pasta alfredo but wasn't able to finnish it due to it being a HUGE PORTION. After dinner we all met up and walked over to check out Big Ben, or "Benjamin" as my roommate would say. She's convinced that the two of them are dating and it makes me laugh. Now we are both here in our hotel room and she's just about to head to bed ... something I really should do too.

Hm was that crazy boring and long?! Eek I'm sorry! I promise I'll start writing this earlier when I'm less tired. I'll also work on uploading the many pictures I've taken so far :)

But yes alas I should head off! Tomorrow we're going to the Tower of London and I'll need to power through my rant for it to be not only done, but good. I have confidence that I'll get it prepared enough in time to present at 5 pm!

Okay well I miss you and would love to hear from you!

xox Kate

ps. I would like to have tea tomorrow! Amanda and I also debated the freaky wax museum! I'm stoked!

pps. I'm sorry again about the pictures! Side note I look like such a HUGE tourist when I walk around with my cmaera. It's ace?

We're here!

Wow. I cannot believe that we're actually here in London! Maybe I'll believe it after I get some sleep. After the 7 hour flight, we waited at the airport for another 3 because our bus wasn't there. After those 3 long hours we'd had enough so the group just took the tube instead. We got to our hotel and dropped off our bags, but we couldn't check in yet! Me and a few other people I just met went and grabbed some sandwiches for lunch then made an attempt to walk around. I say attempt because we were all dead tired... so tired that when we went to get coffee we ended up falling asleep in the cafe. There's a first for everything right?
Anyways, we are finally checked in and have some time to clean up and catch up on sleep, then it's off to dinner!
I'm off to sleep!
xo Kate

Oh my!

I leave tomorrow!