Back to the US of A

It wouldn't be a trip without a crazy travel story- as such, here is the true account of my trip back from Paris...

For once, the French were extremely efficient in checking us in for the group flight from Charles de Gaulle. Despite waking up half an hour late with just over an hour of sleep, taking the wrong train twice at the airport, and getting frisked at security, we still made it through in time for our flight. The flight to JFK was actually amazing since we each had our own TVs with complete with Friends, Simpsons, movies including Ratatouille, and video games.

Once I got to New York, I went to the Jet Blue counter to check in for my flight to DC, only to have them tell me that they "sent an email in October" telling me they moved the flight to 2 hours before. Aka, I had just missed it. I figured out that I could do stand by for a 5 o'clock flight (it's 1 right now) or book a 10pm flight. Since neither of those sounded appealing, I called up Delta and American to check out their flights, most of which are over $500. I called my fam and my dad suggested taking a train from Penn Station in the city to BWI. This sounded like a great idea, so I hopped in a cab and headed for Manhattan.

After a few minutes of being on the road, my dad and sister call back with arguing and commotion in the background saying that there aren't any trains out of Penn Station to Baltimore or DC. So now, I've left JFK and am on my way to Manhattan with no flight and no train. Somehow not worrying, I sit in the cab until my dad calls back and says that he found a 2:30 flight out of Laguardia to Reagan National in DC. It's now 1:30. I tell the driver Laguardia and luckily he was very nice and we were right by the airport exit. 10 minutes later I pull up to the Delta terminal and get out. Mind you I've got my 2 big bags, a back pack, a smaller bag filled with books, and a shopping bag of gifts. I waddle up to the info counter to find out that I'm in the wrong terminal because the flight I want is a shuttle flight. The lady tells me that they are smaller and usually board about 20 minutes before take off so I can still make it.

I go downstairs, find the Route A bus, and hop on. 5 minutes later I'm at the other end of the airport at this tiny terminal. It's now 2. Once I got up to the counter, it was about 2:10. I asked the lady if I could still make it and she said I could, so I check my bags, have to take out about 4 pounds of stuff from my bigger one to avoid charges, and jam it in my carry ons. When going through security at 2:20, luck would have it that I was "selected to participate in a random screening". Great, I think, I've always wanted to do this. After being padded down and having my crammed bags thoroughly searched and unpacked- it's now 2:30 and an announcement comes on: "Mr. McGowan, please report to Gate 4 or your seat will be dropped." I'm sprinting up the walkway, multiple bags in tow, sweating profusely because I still have on my pullover, pea coat, and scarf from Paris, and finally make it up to my gate. I found an open seat on the plane, dropped my stuff, and sank into it whilst I enjoyed the hour long flight to DC. Crazy day, but at least I got a story out of it...

One more entry is on the way so until then...a bientôt.

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a movable feast." -Ernest Hemingway, A Movable Feast

A recap: Partie Deux

And now for a more personalized recap:

You know you were in BU PIP Fall 2007 if…

• You have mistaken Francesca for a French person, multiple times.
• Miryam has taken an awkward and/or unflattering candid picture of you.
• You’ve wondered how Anna’s camera hasn’t made her hunchback yet.
• You’ve seen the professors/administration intoxicated at least once.
• You’ve waited at least 15 minutes when meeting John somewhere.
• You received a brief synopsis of post-Revolutionary French history via Powerpoint- in 2 classes.
• You use the word “stage” in your English vocabulary and really confuse people from home.
• You’ve seen Courtney almost get hit by a bus and not be fazed.
• You feel part of Marie France’s family, and haven’t even lived with her.
• You worried about Alise and Emily making it back from break ok.
• You’ve spoken with Yi about China- past, present, or future.
• You’ve been conquered by the French keyboard.
• You know all about Janelle’s love for dance clubs.
• You’ve abused Jess’ Hospitality major when trying to plan out the night.
• You’ve debated the semantics of dating and relationships with Caitlin Cragg.
• You’ve let Brendan sneak into the Metro with you.
• Robert Crane creeped you out.
• Caitlin Dugan has told you the importance of watching your belongings after almost getting sliced in Rome.

A recap: Partie Une

A little recap of the semester :

You know you’ve lived in Paris if…

• You can fend off any gypsy in a heart beat when they ask, “Speeek Eeenglish?” with one, fluid “Non, merci.”
• You’ve been molested/prevented someone from being molested at Duplex.
• When the Boulanger asks you “avec ceci?” you no longer get flustered and say “…oui…”
• You could navigate the metro system in your sleep (or a drunken stupor).
• You’ve lived through a variety of grèves and now know the meaning of “quasi-nul”.
• You know that BIA isn’t a rap term, but rather the best place to get pancakes and milkshakes.
• You’ve seen your share of famous people and maybe made a fool of yourself when your jaw drops.
• You know that if you don’t have a metro ticket, you can go to Motte Piquet and walk through the broken exit door.
• You have decisively chosen your favorite home/work boulangeries and have a favorite pastry (or 10).
• You know that Orly is so much better than CDG, not just for having “Orrrrlybus”.
• You know that the north and east banlieux are strictly off limits.
• You’ve gone to a small corner convenience store late-night to buy much needed food.
• The words “Le Relais de l’Entrecôte” have changed your life.
• You’ve enjoyed a bottle of wine with friends (and gypsies) on the Champ de Mars.
• You’ve tried blood sausage, pâté, and Roquefort.
• You know a myriad of curse words in French and how to use them most effectively.
• You’ve stepped in poo.
• You’ve enjoyed the variety of metro performers.
• You know what side you take in the G20/Franprix debate.
• While on line 1, you have a favorite stop the woman announces and you recite with her “Attention à la marche en descendant du train.”
• The policies of Nicolas Sarkozy have somehow affected your daily life.
• You’ve ever walked an inordinate number of miles because you couldn’t force yourself to go underground and miss the city.
• You’ve experienced one or more eventful Noctilien rides.
• You know that “L’Express” is synonymous with Cecilia Sarkozy.
• You still stop and look on with a smile when you catch the Eiffel Tower lit up and sparkling at the top of every hour.

On our last episode...

Ok I admit it- I have been a complete slacker. With work and getting the last bit of travelling and site seeing in, I have completely neglected writing. So in order to update you all and save some time, here's a quick recap:

1.) My new internship at the International School of Paris is amazing. My boss is American and so cool and the entire office is bilingual so I can still use my French. The school is right across the river from the Eiffel Tower which I walk to every morning- not a bad walk (which you can see here).


2.) The family came! Having Mom, Dad, and Katrina here for a week was so much fun. Being able to show other people my favorite places and all the fun stuff to see is one of the best parts of having visitors. The week was a whirlwind, but so worth it.

3.) As the family arrived, we jetted right back off to Ireland. The people there were probably the nicest I've ever met in Europe, and the scenery and sites were so beautiful and cool. After arriving in Dublin, we rented an automatic car (and by that I mean they gave us a manual, large blue van) and we drove 4 hours to Cork. This was, to say the least, an adventure. A few curbs and 4 hours without radio later, we arrived and spent a few days seeing the Twohig family and Father Twohig at his living community. Aging as he may be, Father Twohig is still fiesty as ever and it was great seeing him. Once back in Dublin, we saw Trinity College and the Book of Kells, as well as the Guinness Factory- a must if ever in Dublin.

4.) A few friends and I went to the famous Christmas markets in Strasbourg for a day to get into the Christmas spirit a little. This place was awesome. All over the town, there were little wooden huts set up selling everything from handmade crafts and ornaments to hot spiced any-kind-of-drink (personal favorites were the wine and cider) to French and German food. The cathedral in Strasbourg where a lot of the huts are located is awesome and has a really medieval look to it, and we even took a river cruise and got to see the different parts of the city, as well as some of the EU headquarter buildings. After a day of Christmas activities, we just hopped back on the TGV and two hours later were arriving in Paris!

5.) Last weekend was the final of my international trips- London. Expensive as this city is for an American right now (the conversion rate is 1 pound=$2), it was an amazing trip. I really think London is one of my favorite big cities I've visited since here. Luckily, I was able to stay with a friend on the BU program there, and the flats are located in South Kensington which is comparable to a Georgetown or a Greenwich Village in the States. She showed me all the sights- Parliament and Big Ben, the London Eye, all the Christmas lights on Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square, Hamley's Toy Store, Buckingham Palace, and Harrod's. On top of that, London is now only a 2 hour train ride from Paris on the renovated Eurostar which takes you to the St. Pancras International Station. This station is right across from King's Cross where, as we all know, Hogwart's students catch the Hogwart's Express at Platform 9 3/4! They even have a little luggage trolley half inside the wall between Platforms 9 and 10!

6.) The last weekend/week in Paris involves me finishing up my internship report and seeing the remainder of the sights I have left. This weekend was non-stop and so worth it. I really can't believe I head home in less that a week, but I'm definitely excited to see everyone and enjoy a little Christmas time stateside.

Stay tuned for final updates in which I'll try to say something insightful and thought-provoking. Until then, a bientôt!

"The world is a country which nobody ever yet knew by description: one must travel through it one's self to be acquainted with it." -Lord Chesterfield

That's Amore

A long awaited, much anticipated excursion, the 10-day break in Italy finally happened this past week. This was one of the trips I knew I wanted to take even from before I was accepted to the abroad program, so as you can imagine, I was all over this one.

We flew to Rome on RyanAir out of Beauvais Airport just outside of Paris. And when I say airport, I mean a one floor, one hallway building next to some barns and open fields. On the way there I could have sworn we had somehow ended up in North Carolina because I kept seeing a Buffalo Bill's Restaurant, McDonald's, and a gas station always grouped all together on the side of the road. To get a picture of RyanAir, just think Southwest with international flights and no free pretzels. Despite the adventurous nature of the start to the trip, it was actually surprisingly decent and cheap to say the least.

Rome was incredible. I was expecting a big, dirty, crowded city filled with tourists, but it's surprisingly clean and easily accessible for being a capital city. Favorite things- the Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, and Vatican City. We went to the Vatican the second day and saw/climbed St. Peter's Basilica (good lord that was a long way up), as well as the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. And Pouli, you'll be proud that I got a picture of the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel since I was trying to follow in your footsteps from your trip there. I was even crazy enough to eat rabbit at a restaurant we went to one night just because it was on the menu and I thought, when in Rome...

Next stop was Florence for two days. Florence was much smaller than I had thought, especially coming from Rome, so we saw pretty much everything in about a day's time. The Duomo was beautiful and we got to see the sculpture of David in the Accademia, as well as the Uffizi Gallery and Botticelli's Birth of Venus. Once again, I snapped an illegal photo of David to add to the collection of contraband photography. The second day there we took a day trip to Tuscany which included a wine tasting and dinner in the Chianti region. The excursion was a lot of fun with amazing wine, food, and sights, but it rained the entire day we went there so we didn't get the full Under the Tuscan Sun glory. No matter- a few good bottles of wine and good company made up for it.

After literally running to the train station, getting our tickets with 1 minute left before departure, and sprinting down the tracks, we were finally on our way to the city on water. Venice was incredible and such a unique place. We got there on Halloween and got to go to Wake's house, Casa Artom, for their party. That place is gorgeous- former American Embassy, next to the Guggenheim, on the Grand Canal...enough said. Seeing St. Marc's and playing with the pidgeons was a great time, and after that we just wandered around the city and didn't use a map the whole time there. One of the great things about Venice is that you can get lost, find awesome shops and restaurants, and be back on track within minutes without breaking a sweat. The last day we were there, we went to Murano, the little island famous for glass blowing. While trying to return, we mistakenly took the water taxi that circled the island instead of going straight back to the mainland, after which I had to sprint across the whole city to get my bags and a bus to the airport. Nevertheless, I made it with plenty of time and it was worth every moment.

After that awesome vacation, I came back to Paris (and as always, couldn't wait to get back here) and started my internship on Monday. Let's just say, this week may have been one of the most ridiculous weeks I've ever had, in all my life. To recount the whole tale would take quite a long time so in brief my week has consisted of: waiting for directions for two hours in a hotel on the first day, getting a call telling me to take a train to a suburb of Paris, getting lost for 3 hours, sorting old magazines and loose notes from boxes for 6 hours, and hearing my boss' kids running around his apartment screaming. Needless to say, I've put in for a change and it's been a wild week and a great story at the very least!

Hope everyone is doing awesomely. I'll be seeing some of you in about a week from now (family you know who you are) but for everyone else, keep in touch and as always...

A bientôt!

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it." -Yogi Berra

At the Top of the World

After battling the train strike all Friday morning and finally finding out that although our train was canceled we could hop onto one with a detour through Geneva, we finally got to Interlaken, Switzerland. Let me just say I'm glad I was so determined to get here because this place was amazing. Interlaken is a tiny village in the Swiss Alps surrounded on either side by two huge lakes and by mountains on the other sides. It's definitely an outdoorsman/extreme sports lovers' paradise- since it's pretty small, most of the activities let you take advantage of the natural beauty and awesomeness of the land around you.

With this in mind, I had one mission going into this trip...something I was not going to let myself leave Europe without having done- skydiving over the Swiss Alps. Another friend and I booked our places for a Saturday jump and after waiting out the first snow of the season, we were driven up to the top of one of the mountains to the landing strip. We received a few basic instructions on jump procedures, got suited up, and started heading out. Francesca and I were in the last group to jump, so we got to see everyone fly out of the plane and drift in a few minutes later for a safe landing.

Once it was our turn, we got into the plane, lifted off, and started getting strapped in to our tandem instructor. As we were climbing, the entire landscape of Interlaken came into view. The higher we went, the more incredible the view. Finally, we reached our jumping altitude of 11,000 feet and they swung the door of the plane open all of a sudden. Looking out the opening and actually seeing the Earth a few miles below was the first jolt of excitement. The second came when I swung my feet over the side of the plane to assume the jump position. Dangling there at 11,000 feet, I knew there was only one thing left to do. My instructor tilted my head back, assumed his position, and out we went. That was the third and sweetest jolt of excitement- the realization that I was free-falling from a plane at 120mph toward the Earth.

My instructor and I did a backflip out of the plane so the first thing I saw was it flying away from me. He flipped us over and the entire panorama of the land below came into view. Sun beaming on the snow capped peaks; clouds not quite reaching the tops of some; clear, blue water glimmering below- it was incredible. We free fell for about 30 seconds, after which Dave pulled the chute and we started drifting. He asked how it was and I couldn't even begin to tell him. I told him how my sister had done the same thing back at home and since she had flipped out of her plane, we were even now. A few spirals and swirls later, with the land quickly approaching, Dave swung us around for our approach on the landing strip and we slid onto the grass field on our butts. Definitely one of the coolest things I have ever done.

The rest of our time in Interlaken was spent hiking the mountain trails. There are trails that go all through the different parts of the surrounding peaks, so we were able to experience the sheer cliffs, snow capped mountains, waterfalls, mountain cottages, and fresh mountain air. This weekend proved to be one of the most outrageous I've had so far, and I definitely recommend making it to Interlaken if you ever want an experience unlike any other.

I'm off to Italy later on today once I finish my last two finals and classes for the rest of the semester (heyoooo). I'll be there for about 9 days and we'll be seeing Rome, Florence, Tuscany, and Venice, so get ready for some more sweet pictures and stories. Have a good one!

A bientôt!

"It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end." -Ursula K. Le Guin

One, Two, Three Strikes You're Out

As of last night at 8pm, the train and metro systems in France have been on strike in protest of cuts to retirement benefits to the workers by President Sarkozy. It's crazy to see how much Paris relies on it's means of public transportation on a daily basis. Currently, only 4 metro lines are running (3 at 15-25% service, one full time because it's completely automated). Our classes today were canceled since some of the teachers and students have to commute pretty far to get to the BU Center and everyone is pretty much stranded in their own arrondisement unless they can get a taxi or get lucky enough to find a train.

The strike is only supposed to last until Friday morning, but in the past they have lasted up to three weeks and have completely paralyzed the government and economy into submission. All I can say is that come Friday morning, the trains better be up and running because myself and a few friends are heading to Interlaken, Switzerland for the weekend! Check back early next week for pictures of the Alps and my skydiving adventure (if we ever make it there...).

In other news, this past week I explored the Bois de Boulogne area, which is Paris' version of Central Park, except 2.5 times bigger. There are two lakes in the Bois that have great running trails I use, complete with a scenic view of autumn in Paris. There's also a racetrack inside the Bois which apparently was in use the afternoon I went.

After seeing the Bois, I headed down to the stadium area and checked out le Parc des Princes (soccer stadium and home to Paris-St. Germain) and Roland Garros (home of the French Open). The Roland Garros complex was amazing- you could walk inside the main stadium right down to the clay court. I even hopped the wall and snagged a picture of myself on the court where Roger Federer, Raphael Nadal, Serena Williams, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, and Justin Henin have all played and (minus Roger) won a Grand Slam tournament title.

Hope everyone is keeping it real back in the States. Get pumped for some sweet Switzerland pictures coming your way!

A bientôt!

"The sea that calls all things unto her calls me, and I must embark." -Kahlil Gibran