Apple Store...Fail

So I took my MacBook to the new Apple Store in the Carousel du Louvre in the hopes of getting it fixed. Unfortunately, just like like every Apple store I have ever been to, it was packed! I ended up making an appointment for Wednesday but it was a cool chance to see the store because it's pretty cool, and I've never been to the Carousel du Louvre before. I even visited the Virgin Mega Store there and learned about the secret Louvre entrance down there. (Ok well it was secret to me) Here's a picture of the store location.

Excuses Excuses

Hey everyone! I know I haven't posted in a while and I was looking forward to posting last Thursday when the unthinkable happened; My MacBook Pro broke!!! Fortunately, I brought my old MacBook (also broken but useable) but all of my pictures are saved on the other computer. So I'm making due with what I have. But I'm going to check out the new Apple Store right here in Paris later today to get all of my problems solved!!!

But you may ask where I have been these past few weeks and the answer is...everywhere! Three weekends ago I traveled with NYU to the towns of Metz and Nancy in France, very close to the German boarder. I signed up for the trip last minute and wasn't really sure what to expect, but of course as always NYU pulled through and made what could have been a boring trip quite interesting. One of my favorite parts was the tour guide that I had for the English tour in Metz. He was adorable! And he had a cute story about moving to France because of his wife. I took a few stalker shots of him. : )

But beyond that, Metz was beautiful and then we took a side trip to La Maison de la Mirabelle where they grow Mirabelles which are some kind of fruit similar to a peach. I even posed with a giant Mirabelle. And the next day we headed off to Nancy.

Nancy was great mostly because of this great find.

That's right a carnival that just happened to be going on while we were in Nancy. I drank Van Chaud (Hot Wine) which is a typical drink for Noel or Christmas, rode some rides, and even won a stuffed fish and a lollipop.

The next weekend I took a break from the hustle and bustle of Paris and made a quick stop back home in Philadelphia to visit with my mom and with all of my friends I haven't seen for a few months. I went shopping and enjoyed some home cooked food and enjoyed speaking English all the time. But I found I kept saying "Merci" instead of "Thank you" I guess that's what a few months in Paris will do to you.

After saying goodbye to everyone I travel back to Paris...and then left again! This past weekend I visited the town of Grenoble, nestled in the French Alps. It was very scenic and beautiful though there was less snow than I pictured. After deciding to scale one of the mountains (in clothes completely unfit for climbing a mountain in 60 degree weather) we had a relaxing Raclette dinner on top of the mountain. For those who don't know what Raclette is, it is a dish of Swiss origin consisting of melted cheese and potato. Can't really go wrong with that.

The following day we headed to another beautiful town called Pont en Royans. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. This was one of the most beautiful places I have visited thus far in France.

And now I'm off to the apple store to hopefully fix my computer! Hopefully these blogs will start to be more weekly than monthly.

Au revoir.

Halloween and Disney in France

I've been living in Paris for the past two months, and during this time I have experienced many differences between my new home here in France, and my home in Pennsylvania. The most recent strange experience I was lucky enough to take part in was Halloween. Halloween is not celebrated with the same sort of enthusiasm as it is in the United States. There is no trick or treating, stores are void of any kind of decoration, and in order to buy a pumpkin (which we did eventually accomplish) we practically had to beg our local market to give us a whole one to carve. Knowing that Halloween would be different here, my friends and I decided we would take a trip to the most magical place in Europe; Disneyland Paris.

Disneyland was just what we needed. Apparently the folks over at Disney have an appreciation for Halloween even across the Atlantic and the entire place was decked out in Halloween themed greatness. Disney provided yet another example of the differences between the United States and France, in the form of it's rides. Oh the rides! I don't think I've ever experienced so many twists, turns, and loops, on any Disney coasters at either of the parks in the United States. Disneyland Paris is maybe a little more intense than the Disney we know and love at home, and it was exemplified by the numerous adults and teenagers that we encountered, not your usual hoards of small children. But that's not to say that they don't have the classics; Dumbo, Small World, and the Snow White. Those are, after all, what make going to Disneyland so much fun. You get to be a kid again.

I certainly felt like a child again as I roamed through Alice in Wonderland's Labyrinth wearing my newly acquired Minnie Mouse Ears. All in all one of the more interesting and memorable Halloweens that I have had in quite a few years actually.

We even arrived home in time to have a real Parisian Halloween outing at Social Club to celebrate our friend's birthday complete with Halloween costumes that we purchased here in Paris. So maybe the French know how to do Halloween after all.

I'll leave you with this short video of some of my friends getting into the spirit of things in a Caucus Race. Wait a minute, this is college?