Sunday, April 19, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Spring Break 2K9
We are back and still recovering from the craziness that was Spring Break in Europe! To save you all from reading a long and boring chronology of everything we were able to pack into only 10 days here are just the highlights:
First stop: Bruges and Brussels, Belgium!
Belgium is home to thousands of locally brewed beers, chocolate stores on every corner, famous for originating fries (no, it was not the French) and, of course, waffles. We spent our first night in Bruges in the Safari Room at Andre's B&B a short walk from the center of town. Bruges was a fairytale city.. think Beauty and the Beast - little town, it's a quiet village. Anyway, loved our time there, ate our fair share of chocolate and fries, tried some strawberry beer and had a waffle (it was a packaged waffle in the airport but it still counts). Second night: Brussels. Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, is proud of a two-foot-tall bronze statue of a little boy peeing. Enough said.
Next: Berlin, Germany!
Moving onto more historic sites we were overwhelmed by the amount of history presented to us on our free four-hour walking tour of the city by Colin (Frizzle) where we hit every important site in Berlin's history starting at the Brandenburg Gate and wrapping up on Museum Island (need I explain?) for the story of the fall of the Berlin Wall. We enjoyed traditional food - currywurst, kebabs, and California-style burritos (ok, so not so traditional but it definitely filled a void on our trip).
Our Favorite Place: Edinburgh, Scotland!
Where to even begin?!
Top Five Reasons Why We Loved Scotland:
1. Our hostel was across the street from the castle!
2. They love plaid and men wear kilts. Oddly enough they have the most amazing style... and some great shopping!
3. Amazing food...baked potatoes, scones and tea for breakfast, haggis, ok well maybe not haggis... (it is always a strong selling point, maybe it is an American thing, as the woman at The Baked Potato Shop so kindly pointed out to us)
4. Edinburgh is filled with the most bizarre and interesting history we have heard on this trip. The city has a long literary tradition and is a mecca for intellectuals (perfect for husband shopping.. did I mention the kilts?)
5. The story of Greyfriar's Bobby - the inspiration for our future dog. Ask if you are interested.
Edinburgh will stay with us forever!
Final Destination: London, England
The perfect end to our trip we were able to sleep in and relax with our good friend Andy and his roommate Ben, only managing to fall into a few "tourist traps" (the British Museum and Wimbledon). We accomplished our goal of visiting our favorite nightlife spot in Europe: The Roadhouse with Tara's Little Sis Sophie. Our new sense of adventure inspired Andy and Ben to make some change of their own-they are now donning euro mullets. But the highlight of the trip was the night we were introduced to Spring Awakening. Our lives have been changed. All we can say is get out and go see it right now!
Now we are back home in Cannes; back to "reality," but smiling and laughing at how ridiculous our spring break was. We are convinced we had the best spring break of those here. Hands down.
Peace and Love,
MoffTar
First stop: Bruges and Brussels, Belgium!
Belgium is home to thousands of locally brewed beers, chocolate stores on every corner, famous for originating fries (no, it was not the French) and, of course, waffles. We spent our first night in Bruges in the Safari Room at Andre's B&B a short walk from the center of town. Bruges was a fairytale city.. think Beauty and the Beast - little town, it's a quiet village. Anyway, loved our time there, ate our fair share of chocolate and fries, tried some strawberry beer and had a waffle (it was a packaged waffle in the airport but it still counts). Second night: Brussels. Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, is proud of a two-foot-tall bronze statue of a little boy peeing. Enough said.
Next: Berlin, Germany!
Moving onto more historic sites we were overwhelmed by the amount of history presented to us on our free four-hour walking tour of the city by Colin (Frizzle) where we hit every important site in Berlin's history starting at the Brandenburg Gate and wrapping up on Museum Island (need I explain?) for the story of the fall of the Berlin Wall. We enjoyed traditional food - currywurst, kebabs, and California-style burritos (ok, so not so traditional but it definitely filled a void on our trip).
Our Favorite Place: Edinburgh, Scotland!Where to even begin?!
Top Five Reasons Why We Loved Scotland:
1. Our hostel was across the street from the castle!
2. They love plaid and men wear kilts. Oddly enough they have the most amazing style... and some great shopping!
3. Amazing food...baked potatoes, scones and tea for breakfast, haggis, ok well maybe not haggis... (it is always a strong selling point, maybe it is an American thing, as the woman at The Baked Potato Shop so kindly pointed out to us)
4. Edinburgh is filled with the most bizarre and interesting history we have heard on this trip. The city has a long literary tradition and is a mecca for intellectuals (perfect for husband shopping.. did I mention the kilts?)
5. The story of Greyfriar's Bobby - the inspiration for our future dog. Ask if you are interested.
Edinburgh will stay with us forever!
Final Destination: London, England
The perfect end to our trip we were able to sleep in and relax with our good friend Andy and his roommate Ben, only managing to fall into a few "tourist traps" (the British Museum and Wimbledon). We accomplished our goal of visiting our favorite nightlife spot in Europe: The Roadhouse with Tara's Little Sis Sophie. Our new sense of adventure inspired Andy and Ben to make some change of their own-they are now donning euro mullets. But the highlight of the trip was the night we were introduced to Spring Awakening. Our lives have been changed. All we can say is get out and go see it right now!
Now we are back home in Cannes; back to "reality," but smiling and laughing at how ridiculous our spring break was. We are convinced we had the best spring break of those here. Hands down.
Peace and Love,
MoffTar
Friday, March 27, 2009
Where in the World Are Two Girls, One Cannes?
Tomorrow begins our Spring Break adventure! Over the next ten days we will be visiting Belgium, Germany, Scotland & England. Wish us luck and be sure to check back in a week for loads of amazing posts and videos.
Ciao!
-MoffTar
Monday, March 23, 2009
Paris: City of Unbelievable Food... oh and Lights, Monuments, Art, etc
We started our weekend in Paris like every planned trip through AIFS with a bus tour so that we could get acquainted with the city and catch a glimpse of all the famous landmarks, making stops at Hotel Invalides, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame. Having had enough of traveling in groups, we split off to climb the Arc de Triomphe and stroll down the famous Champs-Elysses. It was the perfect time of night to go. The sky was getting dark and the “City of Lights” had started to illuminate. Like everyone who has enjoyed the Paris skyline at night, we marveled at the sparkling Tower attempting to capture the magical ambiance with our point-and-shoots; with flash, sans-flash, night vision yet nothing was doing the trick—you have to witness it for yourselves.
For dinner we went from city lights to complete darkness at a restaurant from Tara’s trusty guidebook called Dans le Noir. We enjoyed a wonderful meal with a small group of friends. The catch: we ate in complete darkness. If you are thinking, as we thought, that our eyes would adjust after being in the dark for a bit you are entirely wrong, as we were. As we tried to decipher what exactly we were eating and attempted to pour our own drinking water we were truly able to appreciate our sense of sight, something that the servers at Dans le Noir were living their day-to-day lives without.
This trip was filled with reminders to be grateful as we began the next day amongst the dead at Père Lachaise, one of the most visited cemeteries in the world covering 120 acres of Paris. Among those privileged enough to be buried there (you must have either been born or have died in Paris): Honoré de Balzac, Frédéric Chopin (although his heart is entombed in Warsaw), Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison; however, he may not be there much longer as Parisians are working hard to remove him and his enthusiasts from Paris.
Needing more time in the shadows of Paris’ most famous landmark we spent an hour or so getting the perfect jumping photo in front of the Eiffel Tower before meeting up with the group at Musée d’Orsay. Having had enough of Impressionist art we traveled back to Renaissance Italy an the Ancient Roman Empire when we crowded around the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and the winged Victory in a Reader’s Digest version tour of the Musée du Louvre. After “Vogue-ing” in front of the glass pyramids we enjoyed a truly French meal along the Champs Elysses before watching the barely costumed (and barely talented) dancers of the Lido Cabaret.
Sunday we were surrounded by luxury as we went from a tour of the famous Opera Garnier (think Phantom of the Opera.. there was actually a lake below the stage) to the famous Palace of Versailles. But you can only take so many opulently decorated rooms in one day so we took a break and strolled through the gardens; however, Spring has just begun so the gardens were pretty barren. To top off our third day in Paris we ate the best and only Mexican food since leaving California (besides the curry chicken that the cafeteria put in burritos for the Mexican Soiree).
Our trip to Paris came to a close with a riverboat tour on the Seine on Sunday morning. In need of food (what’s new?) we searched for the Laduree, a specialty sweet shop that we were told makes macaroons that make people faint. We tested the theory. It is true. (Fortunately for us, although unfortunately for our beach figures, they also have a store in Monaco, just an hour from Cannes.) We both agree that we have eaten the best meals of our lives while abroad, and Paris was no different.
With love from the city of love,
MoffTar
For dinner we went from city lights to complete darkness at a restaurant from Tara’s trusty guidebook called Dans le Noir. We enjoyed a wonderful meal with a small group of friends. The catch: we ate in complete darkness. If you are thinking, as we thought, that our eyes would adjust after being in the dark for a bit you are entirely wrong, as we were. As we tried to decipher what exactly we were eating and attempted to pour our own drinking water we were truly able to appreciate our sense of sight, something that the servers at Dans le Noir were living their day-to-day lives without.
This trip was filled with reminders to be grateful as we began the next day amongst the dead at Père Lachaise, one of the most visited cemeteries in the world covering 120 acres of Paris. Among those privileged enough to be buried there (you must have either been born or have died in Paris): Honoré de Balzac, Frédéric Chopin (although his heart is entombed in Warsaw), Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison; however, he may not be there much longer as Parisians are working hard to remove him and his enthusiasts from Paris.
Needing more time in the shadows of Paris’ most famous landmark we spent an hour or so getting the perfect jumping photo in front of the Eiffel Tower before meeting up with the group at Musée d’Orsay. Having had enough of Impressionist art we traveled back to Renaissance Italy an the Ancient Roman Empire when we crowded around the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and the winged Victory in a Reader’s Digest version tour of the Musée du Louvre. After “Vogue-ing” in front of the glass pyramids we enjoyed a truly French meal along the Champs Elysses before watching the barely costumed (and barely talented) dancers of the Lido Cabaret.
Sunday we were surrounded by luxury as we went from a tour of the famous Opera Garnier (think Phantom of the Opera.. there was actually a lake below the stage) to the famous Palace of Versailles. But you can only take so many opulently decorated rooms in one day so we took a break and strolled through the gardens; however, Spring has just begun so the gardens were pretty barren. To top off our third day in Paris we ate the best and only Mexican food since leaving California (besides the curry chicken that the cafeteria put in burritos for the Mexican Soiree).
Our trip to Paris came to a close with a riverboat tour on the Seine on Sunday morning. In need of food (what’s new?) we searched for the Laduree, a specialty sweet shop that we were told makes macaroons that make people faint. We tested the theory. It is true. (Fortunately for us, although unfortunately for our beach figures, they also have a store in Monaco, just an hour from Cannes.) We both agree that we have eaten the best meals of our lives while abroad, and Paris was no different.
With love from the city of love,
MoffTar
Renaissance Men in Milan
Saturday March 7th - Monday March 9th 2009
The five hour train ride from Cannes to Milan afforded us the opportunity to watch the view out our window change from the sparkling French sea to the northern countryside of Italy. We were also able swap musical preferences with the group of young Italians sharing our compartment & learned that the Jonas Brothers are, in fact, taking over the world. Once in Milan we witnessed the violent capabilities of angry Italian women and the stubborn nature of ancient Milanese fixtures. (See TGOC - Episode 6) The rest of the night was spent with two AIFS comrades, Craig and Sarah, exploring the city.
Day Two began at Da Vinci's "The Last Supper." Even though we had accidentally made reservations for the day before, the staff took pity on us and allowed us 12 minutes to glimpse the Renaissance Man's great fresco. How could we possibly follow up standing at the base of one of the most recognized artistic works of all time? By watching cats run around a castle for the next forty-five minutes. As lovers of free stuff we took advantage of it being Women's Day in Europe and went to all of the museums housed in the castle - FOR FREE! We saw rooms designed by Da Vinci himself and Michelangelo's last work, the Rondanini Pieta. We enjoyed a nice tea and chocolate croissant at a quaint, Salon de The.
Returning to the Duomo in the center of the city, we were fortunate enough to run into Craig and Sarah. The four of us enjoyed the Ambrosiana Gallery which contains Raphael's cartoon for "School of Athens." The cartoon was extremely impressive and definitely worth a visit to the gallery, which did not offer us free admission. We then bid Craig and Sarah adieu and booked it back to the hostel to get ready for the game. Wearing our new #32 jerseys, we took the concierge up on his offer to drive us to the game. We no longer need to imagine what it is like to travel at the speed of light. Our concierge (name still unclear) may have managed to get us there earlier than when we left the hostel.
Once our heads stopped spinning from the car ride, we were overtaken by the shadow of the almighty San Siro stadium. Blending into the sea of black and red (the team colors of AC Milan) we joined the throngs of eager fans making their way into the stadium. Our seats were high above field level but afforded us the perfect view of the shenanigans that were taking place in the hard-core fan section. And these fans were hard-core; think impossibly large flags and homemade explosives hard-core! It was everything one would expect from Italian soccer and we had a blast. The presence of #32 was just icing on the cake (trillion-dollar, gold-covered, melt in your mouth, make you weak in the knees icing, but icing nonetheless!)
That afternoon we treated ourselves to fancy spritzers on the top terrace of Milan's fashionable, Rinascente (Italian equivalent of Bloomingdale's.) The extraordinary view of the illuminated Duomo was well worth the 12 euro we paid for drinks. After a few hours of decompressing from the game we helped ourselves to some comfort food - sushi. Topping off the evening with chocolate gelato we reminisced about our perfect weekend!
Although our time was short we quickly fell in love with everything Milan had to offer. The people were great, the food was scrumptious and seeing #32 in his element wasn't so bad either....
Until next time. Much love.
-MoffTar
The five hour train ride from Cannes to Milan afforded us the opportunity to watch the view out our window change from the sparkling French sea to the northern countryside of Italy. We were also able swap musical preferences with the group of young Italians sharing our compartment & learned that the Jonas Brothers are, in fact, taking over the world. Once in Milan we witnessed the violent capabilities of angry Italian women and the stubborn nature of ancient Milanese fixtures. (See TGOC - Episode 6) The rest of the night was spent with two AIFS comrades, Craig and Sarah, exploring the city.
Day Two began at Da Vinci's "The Last Supper." Even though we had accidentally made reservations for the day before, the staff took pity on us and allowed us 12 minutes to glimpse the Renaissance Man's great fresco. How could we possibly follow up standing at the base of one of the most recognized artistic works of all time? By watching cats run around a castle for the next forty-five minutes. As lovers of free stuff we took advantage of it being Women's Day in Europe and went to all of the museums housed in the castle - FOR FREE! We saw rooms designed by Da Vinci himself and Michelangelo's last work, the Rondanini Pieta. We enjoyed a nice tea and chocolate croissant at a quaint, Salon de The.
Returning to the Duomo in the center of the city, we were fortunate enough to run into Craig and Sarah. The four of us enjoyed the Ambrosiana Gallery which contains Raphael's cartoon for "School of Athens." The cartoon was extremely impressive and definitely worth a visit to the gallery, which did not offer us free admission. We then bid Craig and Sarah adieu and booked it back to the hostel to get ready for the game. Wearing our new #32 jerseys, we took the concierge up on his offer to drive us to the game. We no longer need to imagine what it is like to travel at the speed of light. Our concierge (name still unclear) may have managed to get us there earlier than when we left the hostel.
Once our heads stopped spinning from the car ride, we were overtaken by the shadow of the almighty San Siro stadium. Blending into the sea of black and red (the team colors of AC Milan) we joined the throngs of eager fans making their way into the stadium. Our seats were high above field level but afforded us the perfect view of the shenanigans that were taking place in the hard-core fan section. And these fans were hard-core; think impossibly large flags and homemade explosives hard-core! It was everything one would expect from Italian soccer and we had a blast. The presence of #32 was just icing on the cake (trillion-dollar, gold-covered, melt in your mouth, make you weak in the knees icing, but icing nonetheless!)
That afternoon we treated ourselves to fancy spritzers on the top terrace of Milan's fashionable, Rinascente (Italian equivalent of Bloomingdale's.) The extraordinary view of the illuminated Duomo was well worth the 12 euro we paid for drinks. After a few hours of decompressing from the game we helped ourselves to some comfort food - sushi. Topping off the evening with chocolate gelato we reminisced about our perfect weekend!
Although our time was short we quickly fell in love with everything Milan had to offer. The people were great, the food was scrumptious and seeing #32 in his element wasn't so bad either....
Until next time. Much love.
-MoffTar
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Just Another Saturday...
Yesterday, our group spent the day in the beautiful French ville of Aix en Provence. Two hours north of Cannes, this beautiful city contains one of the most brilliant artisan markets we have ever seen and was once home & inspiration to post-impressionist artist Paul Cezanne.
That night we enjoyed a show at the Palais in Cannes. Expecting a traditional ballet we were pleasantly surprised by the spectacular show put on by the Ballet de Rua - a group of male dancers from Brazil.
Blending hip hop, salsa, capoeira and traditional dances, the company aims to highlight the good and bad times of Brazil’s history. ‘Our show is a celebration of life, joy and love, a celebration of our culture – we want to show the power of the Brazilian people.’
That night we enjoyed a show at the Palais in Cannes. Expecting a traditional ballet we were pleasantly surprised by the spectacular show put on by the Ballet de Rua - a group of male dancers from Brazil.
Blending hip hop, salsa, capoeira and traditional dances, the company aims to highlight the good and bad times of Brazil’s history. ‘Our show is a celebration of life, joy and love, a celebration of our culture – we want to show the power of the Brazilian people.’
Thursday, March 19, 2009
TGOC - Episode 6
We now present - MILANO! Thank you all for being patient, we have been extremely busy lately...but please keep checking back for our Milan blog, bonus video & PARIS!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Finally, a "King of the World" Moment
After many false starts, we finally had a real moment on top of the world (or at least France!) Despite the painstakingly vertical climb to the top, we spent the day hiking with good friends enjoying the most amazing views of the French coast.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The Tower Still Leans and the David Still Stands
Friday was our first official excused absence from class (this is cause for excitement as the attendance policy is very strict here) and we departed on our Italian adventure early Friday morning with forty other students from the AIFS program. Typically it takes about six hours by coach to get to Florence from Cannes but we made a stop on our way over in the City of Pisa.
Fortunately the weather was nice and we could finally take pictures that didn’t feature our black pea coats, which we have now grown to despise. We were welcomed to the city right after stepping off the bus by a swarm of Italians selling cheap knock-offs and “bling-bling,” as they referred to it, outside the medieval city walls surrounding the tower and the main part of the City of Pisa. Once inside we saw the old cathedral and its bell tower, or as we know it the leaning town of Pisa standing at only a height of 184 ft.
Pisa was probably the best people watching experience of our trip so far. Scattered across the lawn in front of the tower were countless amounts of people sticking their butts out pretending to be pushing the leaning tower but really only holding their hands in the air…. Truly a sight to see.
A few hours later we had arrived at our hotel in Florence, Hotel Pendini, in a perfect location on Via Strozzi directly off the Plaza della Repubblica and within walking distance to all the sights in the city (once again... lots of walking!). Plaza della Repubblica marks the intersection of two main roads forming a cross in the middle of the city. As soon as we checked into our room and dropped off our backpacks we went out to explore the ancient streets of Florence which we quickly found started and stopped without rhyme or reason making finding our way around difficult at first.
Because of a recommendation from a friend who studied here last year we ate one of our favorite meals of the trip that night at a quaint restaurant called Za-Za’s where we enjoyed a fresh caprese salad, ravioli in walnut sauce, rigatoni, and a glass of rosée surrounded by tables of loud and stereotypical Italian men sprinkled with a few American tourists (Thanks Dominique!).
Saturday started early with a guided tour where we learned a lot of the history of the city from a woman extremely passionate and clearly proud to be from this “home of the Renaissance and birthplace of our modern world.” We enjoyed the grandeur of Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly known as the Duomo, made of three colors of marble each representing a different ideal: white for hope, green for faith, and rose for charity. The cathedral took approximately 200 years to construct with the dome as the final touch as the technology to create the dome they envisioned was not invented until local architect Brunelleschi did. This was the first Renaissance dome and the model for many domes around Europe. When planning St. Peter’s in Rome, Michelangelo said, “I can build its sister—bigger, but not more beautiful” than the dome of Florence.
As we moved on we walked by Dante’s house (or near where they suspect he may have lived in Florence), enjoyed watching some local artisans create a chalk mural on the street, and perused through Mercato Nuovo aka the Straw Market where we touched the
nose of Porcellino, a statue of a wild boar, which people rub in order to ensure their return to Florence. Our tour continued across the Ponte Vecchio (Florence’s most famous bridge lined with shops selling gold and silver) and through the Piazza della Signoria with city hall where the David once stood until 1873 and where a copy has stood in its place since then.
Our tour ended at Santa Croce Church which houses wonderful art and the tombs of great Florentines including Galileo Galilei, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Dante Alighieri, and Niccolo Machiavelli.
After grabbing a quick Margherita con frites (pizza with French fries on top) and some gelato we met back up with the group at Uffizi Gallery where we spent a couple hours looking at untitled art. Not wanting to see one more piece of Italian art we visited more markets and shops on our way back to our hotel.
Dinner that night was at a local family owned restaurant recommended to us by the receptionist at our hotel… another good meal of homemade pheasant ravioli. After a toast by fellow Chapman student Alex to the wonderful trip we had had so far we made our way to a local bar and then onto a discotecca called Twice. Our goal of buying as few drinks as possible while in Europe was accomplished as we invited ourselves into a VIP lounge where three American guys bought all the girls sparkling buckets of champagne and Grey Goose until 4:00 am… Thank you America!
Our Italian adventure ended on Sunday after we visited the Galleria dell’Accademia, home of Michelangelo’s David—our favorite experience in Florence. The fact that the Accademia was built solely to house the famous statue was no surprise as upon entering the museum and turning the corner around the Rape of the Sabines, the David stands on a pedestal at the end of a long corridor under a dome that allowed natural light to shine down on what is one of the greatest works of art known to man. We cannot explain to you the feelings and emotions that rushed through us when we first caught sight of the David. It is truly magnificent. We have no pictures of the David as photography was not allowed, but really that made that moment even more special to each of us as you can only experience the David by being in its presence.
We could not have chosen a better ending to our trip to Florence.
Ciao! - MoffTar
Fortunately the weather was nice and we could finally take pictures that didn’t feature our black pea coats, which we have now grown to despise. We were welcomed to the city right after stepping off the bus by a swarm of Italians selling cheap knock-offs and “bling-bling,” as they referred to it, outside the medieval city walls surrounding the tower and the main part of the City of Pisa. Once inside we saw the old cathedral and its bell tower, or as we know it the leaning town of Pisa standing at only a height of 184 ft.
Pisa was probably the best people watching experience of our trip so far. Scattered across the lawn in front of the tower were countless amounts of people sticking their butts out pretending to be pushing the leaning tower but really only holding their hands in the air…. Truly a sight to see.
A few hours later we had arrived at our hotel in Florence, Hotel Pendini, in a perfect location on Via Strozzi directly off the Plaza della Repubblica and within walking distance to all the sights in the city (once again... lots of walking!). Plaza della Repubblica marks the intersection of two main roads forming a cross in the middle of the city. As soon as we checked into our room and dropped off our backpacks we went out to explore the ancient streets of Florence which we quickly found started and stopped without rhyme or reason making finding our way around difficult at first.
Because of a recommendation from a friend who studied here last year we ate one of our favorite meals of the trip that night at a quaint restaurant called Za-Za’s where we enjoyed a fresh caprese salad, ravioli in walnut sauce, rigatoni, and a glass of rosée surrounded by tables of loud and stereotypical Italian men sprinkled with a few American tourists (Thanks Dominique!).
Saturday started early with a guided tour where we learned a lot of the history of the city from a woman extremely passionate and clearly proud to be from this “home of the Renaissance and birthplace of our modern world.” We enjoyed the grandeur of Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly known as the Duomo, made of three colors of marble each representing a different ideal: white for hope, green for faith, and rose for charity. The cathedral took approximately 200 years to construct with the dome as the final touch as the technology to create the dome they envisioned was not invented until local architect Brunelleschi did. This was the first Renaissance dome and the model for many domes around Europe. When planning St. Peter’s in Rome, Michelangelo said, “I can build its sister—bigger, but not more beautiful” than the dome of Florence.As we moved on we walked by Dante’s house (or near where they suspect he may have lived in Florence), enjoyed watching some local artisans create a chalk mural on the street, and perused through Mercato Nuovo aka the Straw Market where we touched the
nose of Porcellino, a statue of a wild boar, which people rub in order to ensure their return to Florence. Our tour continued across the Ponte Vecchio (Florence’s most famous bridge lined with shops selling gold and silver) and through the Piazza della Signoria with city hall where the David once stood until 1873 and where a copy has stood in its place since then.Our tour ended at Santa Croce Church which houses wonderful art and the tombs of great Florentines including Galileo Galilei, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Dante Alighieri, and Niccolo Machiavelli.
After grabbing a quick Margherita con frites (pizza with French fries on top) and some gelato we met back up with the group at Uffizi Gallery where we spent a couple hours looking at untitled art. Not wanting to see one more piece of Italian art we visited more markets and shops on our way back to our hotel.
Dinner that night was at a local family owned restaurant recommended to us by the receptionist at our hotel… another good meal of homemade pheasant ravioli. After a toast by fellow Chapman student Alex to the wonderful trip we had had so far we made our way to a local bar and then onto a discotecca called Twice. Our goal of buying as few drinks as possible while in Europe was accomplished as we invited ourselves into a VIP lounge where three American guys bought all the girls sparkling buckets of champagne and Grey Goose until 4:00 am… Thank you America!
Our Italian adventure ended on Sunday after we visited the Galleria dell’Accademia, home of Michelangelo’s David—our favorite experience in Florence. The fact that the Accademia was built solely to house the famous statue was no surprise as upon entering the museum and turning the corner around the Rape of the Sabines, the David stands on a pedestal at the end of a long corridor under a dome that allowed natural light to shine down on what is one of the greatest works of art known to man. We cannot explain to you the feelings and emotions that rushed through us when we first caught sight of the David. It is truly magnificent. We have no pictures of the David as photography was not allowed, but really that made that moment even more special to each of us as you can only experience the David by being in its presence.
We could not have chosen a better ending to our trip to Florence.
Ciao! - MoffTar
Friday, February 20, 2009
Pictures!
Sorry it took so long to get these up.... Photobucket takes a really long time to upload. Not to mention our internet connection here is slow as molasses!
Enjoy! - MoffTar
Enjoy! - MoffTar
Thursday, February 19, 2009
People All Over the World
Today was the last day with the Japanese students. They will return to Tokyo on Saturday when we are in Florence. It was so much fun getting to know them, and Marissa's fan club will truly be missed.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Bar-TH-elona
The second largest city in Spain is like a mosaic. A plethora of colors, shapes and sounds provide the background for a place that is truly bursting with life. As this past weekend was the first trip we organized independently of school, we were fortunate to find ourselves in a location with as much excitement as Barcelona (pronounced Bar-TH-elona by locals...and those in the know!)
Friday after class we hastily grabbed our backpacks and booked it to city hall to catch our bus to the Nice airport. (Disclaimer - in this post "we" means a group of 4-8 girls as we went with some of our fellow AIFS students) To our surprise, the plane to Barcelona was slightly larger than a greyhound bus. We joked that it was our own private jet but that was just to cover up the trepidation we felt. Relieved - we landed in Barcelona at 4:30 in the afternoon. From the city center, Plaza de Catalunya, we navigated the unfamiliar streets to find our hostel - Gothic Point. GP is known for being a "backpacker friendly" hostel. This means that A) They have covered the walls with graffiti art to appeal to a younger generation & B) Taking a shower is at each individuals discretion. Despite the odd and unfamiliar smells, we absolutely loved hosteling and can't wait to do it again.
The first night in Barcelona was spend exploring the many shops on La Rambla. We found ourselves at an amazing market, La Boqueria, that had endless stalls of fruits, meats, veggies and candy. It was a colorful and beautiful site. After a few more hours of navigating the architecturally beautiful side streets of Spain, we returned to our hostel to get ready for dinner. Now, in Spain, locals don't eat dinner until really late at night. By this time it was 10:30 and we thought it would be safe to appear at a restaurant, fashionably on time. Even though we had one of the BEST meals ever (tapas and Sangria), we learned that it was still pretty early to be eating dinner. The remainder of Friday was spent finding a hot night club to go to; after all, that's what one does in Spain. Our hot night club ending up being a bar, located in a wax museum, decorated to look like a forest. The wax figures surrounding the bar were a bit creepy, but we just laughed it off and ended up having a good time.
Saturday, we joined a tour group sponsored by our hostel. Our guide led us to some of Gaudi's most famous architectural sites. We saw a house he constructed for a wealthy Spanish family and one of the most expensive apartment complexes in Europe. The highlight of the tour was La Sagrada Familia. A massive church that has been under construction for over 100 years and is still not near completion. The complicated design and sheer size of this structure is completely breathtaking. Having walked for two and a half hours, we were relived to take a bus to Parc Guell. This park was intended to act as a gated community for Barcelona's elite. Instead, tourists come to enjoy some of Gaudi's most outrageous/fabulous designs. The park also houses the longest bench in Europe!
Starving and exhausted we enjoyed another meal of tapas near our hostel. Here we learned that in Spain you ARE NOT supposed to wait for everyone to get their food to start and eating & you HAVE TO ask for the bill at the end of the meal or your waiter will leave you hanging for a very long time. Lesson learned. After lunch we shopped. And shopped. And shopped. Barcelona is famous for having some of the funkiest style at the best prices. It was definitely a relief [from Cannes] to walk into a store that wasn't Chanel or Louis Vuitton. After shopping we siesta'd from 8-9:30. Being Valentine's day we wanted to do something fun for dinner and found ourselves on the candlelit terrace of the Dali museum. Despite the meal being super Americanized, the ambiance was quite enjoyable. Saturday night was spent attempting to dance the night away in a Spanish club. The atmosphere was really fun, but we learned that we are not true locals. As most Spaniards party all night long, we gave up around 4AM and retired to our hostel.
Getting up early the next day to check out, we carried our luggage around the city before it was time to go to the airport. After our excruciating initiation into the backpacker's lifestyle in London, Barcelona was a breeze. Even though we spent 45 minutes in the airport trying to locate our terminal, our newly developed spines of steel, didn't let us down. Our flight home was at 2:30 in the afternoon and to our horror, this plane was even smaller than the first.
Safely back on solid ground we gave thanks for the fun-filled and pick-pocket-free, 43 hours spent in Barcelona. We also took a second to marvel in the idea that we had just left Spain to return home to Cannes, France. It's a crazy concept that we are still getting used to, and the second that we do - we probably don't deserve to be here.
Hope you're all well!
-MoffTar
Friday, February 13, 2009
BA-BA-BA-BARCELONA
Hey All -
Two Girls One Cannes heads to Barcelona for the weekend. So wish us luck & be prepared for lot's of amazing pics, videos and stories upon return!
Love Always,
MoffTar
Two Girls One Cannes heads to Barcelona for the weekend. So wish us luck & be prepared for lot's of amazing pics, videos and stories upon return!
Love Always,
MoffTar
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Monaco - City? Country? Prinicipality? Try all three.
Tucked away in a small corner of the French Riviera is the beautiful country of Monaco. Words cannot do this glamorous, little country justice - but we are sure going to try.
Our day began bright and early with morning breakfast at the College. We then boarded a charter bus (one of those awful Star Liners you see inundating the 110!)and were off for an hour drive East. The ride gave us an opportunity to see the outskirts of Cannes and our first view of the French Alps - covered in snow, of course! We arrived in Monaco at mid-morning and were happy to learn that pick-pockets do not operate in this country. What a relief! Seriously (they seem to be just about everywhere else!)
Monaco is comprised of five different areas and our first stop was the Princes Palais. Here we found the church where Princess Grace (Grace Kelly) married Prince Ranier, as well as the famous palace. Here we spotted some gentleman who we found extremely attractive based on the possibility that they may or may not be royalty! (We liked to think they were!) We ate the sack lunches provided by the College staff on a beautiful cliff, overlooking the bay and Monaco's famous yachts. Marissa MARVELED at the applesauce that were in the lunches - they were in Capri Sun-esque packets that you had to squeeze.
The changing of the guard occurred at noon which has slightly less pomp and circumstance than Buckingham Palace, but is fun to watch nonetheless. The real stars of the show were the giant seagulls that paraded through the crowd looking for food. Poor things - Monaco is one of the cleanest cities we've ever seen. The place is immaculate! After the changing of the guard we spent some time in the marvelous Musee Oceanographique. The interior is like being in a palace - but one filled with aquariums, whale teeth (balene) and submarines.
After the museum- our personal favorite, a trip to Monaco's famous Monte Carlo casino. Most of the AIFS students only gawked at the beautiful building from the outside and central lobby, but we brave few paid the 10 euro admission fee to go where the real action is - the casino floor! The experience was totally exhilarating. After some cautious play in the slots room - we went for big money at the roulette table. Big money for traveling college students is about 5 euro, for the other impeccably dressed individuals at our table - their minimum bets were 1,500 euro. C'est la vie!
With souvenir chips in hand we boarded the bus for a short ride to Eze. Eze is a small medieval village perched on the top of a hill. Overlooking the ocean, the climb to the villages ancient ruins is an exhausting one. On the way, up you get to see little arts and crafts boutiques tucked behind the stone walls of this quaint French village. Once at the top of the ville, we were provided another breathtaking view - the sun setting on the Mediterranean.
Back at school we were able to reflect on a truly magnificent day. Neither of us had experienced beauty like we found in Monaco and will cherish the memory forever. On our travels, it would be easy to be overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and experiences that are being presented to us; however, we constantly remember to give thanks for everything that has enabled us to be here. We are truly grateful for all that we have seen so far!
Sending you love from across the globe --
MoffTar
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Pics of Cannes!
We just wanted to share our pictures from our rainy day adventures in Cannes including nights at Quay's Pub (we are still in search of a more authentic French bar that will actually let us in... we will keep you posted) and the Musee de la Castre at the top of the hill in the old part of the city which houses a random collection of some paintings of the French Riviera in one room and ancient Egyptian artifacts in the other.
Tara's Cannes Photos
Marissa's Cannes Photos
Enjoy!
-MoffTar
Friday, February 6, 2009
Rainy Days in Cannes
The tunnel we usually take to the beach. Flooded due to rain. Socks currently drying on the furnace.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
College International de Cannes
Despite the obvious paradise that we have recently inhabited - yes, we do still attend school here. This post will be dedicated to familiarizing you all with our surroundings. We live and take class at the International College de Cannes. The school is devoted to teaching non-native speakers the French language. For most Californians, this school would remind you of an institute where Spanish speakers learn English as a second language. Get it?
The student population is small, only about 250 students, but extremely diverse. Foreigners come from all parts of the globe to live and study here. Students can stay for a year, a semester (like us), a month or a week. We recently learned that a student from Michigan has been here for four years. Wow. At the moment there is our group from America (AIFS), a group from Japan and a group from Italy. We've also met some Canadians, Brazilians and Spaniards who've been here for a year or more. The Italians are only here for a month so we think another group will most likely move in after them. Students can either live in the dorms, like most of us do, or commute to campus for daily classes.
A typical day starts with morning breakfast from 8:15-8:45. Everyone eats together in the cafe as we're served by the kitchen staff. Food consists of a ton of vegetables and depending on the main dish, one usually has to gorge themselves on bread and butter. Class begins at 9AM. Our classes consist of 10 or 11 students (we are in separate classes in case you were wondering!) Marissa's group is comprised of Japanese and AIFS students, while Tara's class has 7 AIFS students, 1 Japanese student, 1 gentleman from Denmark and a married couple from Norway. We have three hours of class and then it's lunch at 12:05. After lunch we usually do homework in the Foyer with the other students, catch up on our e-mails, walk into town or take a nap. Dinner is served at 7PM and the rest of the night is free. With the location of the College it isn't difficult to occupy our time. Some nights we play card games, while others are spent at the local pub, The Quays (an Irish joint the American students have Christened as their own!)
The College is located on the French Riviera. Our campus faces the Mediterranean Sea (which can be seen from our bedroom window.) To get to the beach we just have to exit the campus, cross under a bridge and voila! - la plage! The campus is a 15 minute walk from the main part of Cannes (La Croisette, Palais de Festivals and La Rue D'Antibes.) This area is full of shops (both high end and generic), fabulous restaurants featuring cuisine from all parts of the globe, grand hotels - the most famous of these being The Carlton - and three casinos. Cannes' famous yachts and sailboats surround this area so you are constantly reminded of the wealth and grandeur of the city.
View Larger Map
And there you have it! That gives you an overview of our life here in France. Since we've only been here a week there is definitely loads more to come, so keep checking in and don't be shy to leave a comment or two.
Be on the look out for the next episode of our video blog as we give you a tour of our accommodations here at the college!
Best wishes,
MoffTar
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Cannes You Feel It?!
If you can picture a small beach town, set on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea that appears like a cross between Beverly Hills and the quaintest European village-then you're probably envisioning Cannes. We couldn't completely comprehend any of this until taking our first stroll through this amazing little city early Sunday morning. We began the day enjoying pain au chocolat with brunch at the College. Having had several meals in the cafeteria, we quickly surmised that weekend brunch will be a meal we look forward to all week.
Despite the rain we decided to expand our knowledge of Cannes by doing some good old fashioned exploring. The winding streets of this delicate city took us past shops, hotels and eateries. Being rainy and a Sunday everything was closed and there was hardly anyone in site. We felt like we had been submerged in a fantasyland and were the only ones on the planet to enjoy it. We were so relieved to have our first view of the plage (beach) and saw that there was a place to park our yachts for the spring. Phew! We thought we would have to put them in storage. But seriously - nothing reminds you of your place in the world like standing next to a boat worth several millions.
Feeling a bit more at home, we found ourselves atop the stairs of the famous Palais des Festivals. After completely freaking out for a minute, we took a moment of silence to "feel the magic" as we called it. The view from up there is something we would definitely love to get used to. The pair of us cannot wait to see this area completely transform in May for the film festival.
Our stroll took us through the stores along La Croissette. That's the famous beachfront with posh stores and restaurants. We tried to guess where we think Brad, Angelina, George and Leo will hang out during the festival and plan to set up a tight perimeter in the months to come. We then visited a local street market & purchased some yellow and purple tulips for our room because it seemed like the most romantic, European thing to do at the time. We tested our french with the flower vendor but quickly realized that we have a lot to learn (she was extremely nice about it though!)
Following the beach back towards campus we took a moment to scream unabashedly into the sea. It was the most natural way to express our emotions at the time! The rest of the day was spent in a brief orientation meeting with our AIFS group and enjoying a welcome drink with fellow students.
Today, Monday, started off with a bang - FRENCH LANGUAGE PLACEMENT TESTS. There is no greater experience than taking a test to remind you that you don't comprehend the native tongue of the land you're living in for four months. We receive our test results tomorrow when we meet our teachers to begin 15hrs/week of intensive language study. Wish us luck!
Needing to get some necessities for our room, etc. we visited the local Monoprix-which can only be described as a cross between a Target and a supermarket. We also purchased our French cell phones (so e-mail us if you absolutely need our numbers because we don't have many minutes as of yet!) Also, Tara's camera broke so we located the local equivalent of a Best Buy, called FNAC. More to come on the status of the camera.
Tomorrow begins our classes, which is both a relief and a bit nerve wracking. The sooner we start to learn the language the more interaction we will have with locals; however, no matter where you are in the world - school is school and the thought of 9AM class is never fun.
As always, thanks for tuning in. Lot's more to come - including the debut of our video blog. It's going to be great so you won't want to miss it. Don't forget to comment or write:
twogirls.onecannes@gmail.com
Best wishes,
MoffTar
**This week's shout out is dedicated to our friend Sommer Hogan. Cannes is fabulous and classy - just like you. We eagerly await the day when we encounter this infamous Calvin Klein store and will be sure to fill you in when we do. Ooh La La!
Monday, February 2, 2009
London Calling....
Bonjour from Cannes!
Here are the links to our London pictures - check them out!
Marissa's London Pics
Tara's London Pics
(The password to see these and all future photo albums is "Cannes")
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Our Tale of Two Cities
Our last day in London was a complete whirlwind! We woke up super early thanks to a lovely British wake-up call and made our way down to the hotel's continental breakfast. With the prices of food in the city we tried to eat as much as we could to get us through the day (and stole a few Babybel cheese to tie us over). In search of Internet we made our way to Starbucks for some WiFi but were disappointed when, after we purchased our drinks, we realized that they actually charged to use WiFi there. We chugged a good portion of our drinks down and made our way to our favorite restaurant Pret-A-Manger. Appropriate because we should know French but we are embarrassed to admit we actually had to look up the meaning.. ready to eat. It smelled delicious, as it always did whenever we walked in (although we had never actually eaten there before so we really had no idea what the food was like). Marissa was able to Skype with her sister, Brianna, and was so excited to be able to talk to someone from home! We did our daily family emails confirming the fact that we are both still alive and well.
An hour later we were on a bus with tour guide Nikki who told us all about London. We rode in the coach with her for about three hours as she told us all kinds of interesting facts about the city. Unfortunately we only got off the coach at a few places for only a few minutes... just enough time to snap a few pictures with an extended arm, hoping to get some of whatever was behind us in the photo so we could prove we were actually there. The tour was a perfect way for us to get acclimated to the city. We saw many of London's historic landmarks--Big Ben, the House of Parliament, West Minster Abbey, St. Pauls Cathedral, the Lord Mayor's home, among many other sites. It was interesting to see how parts of the city was rebuilt after the war, however there was one cathedral that had been partly destroyed by shrapnel during the war but never recovered to remain as a reminder of the great war.
We passed Fleet Street and heard tales of the demon barber, passed a cathedral whose spire influnced the tiered wedding cake form we are used to today, a pub called The Hung Drawn and Quartered named as such in reference to the punishment many were given like William Wallace (Mel Gibson) in Braveheart, and our favorite, a pub named after Prince Albert who thought it fashionable to pierce every orifice of the body including his own personal jewels (now referred to as the Prince Albert).
We ended our city tour at Covent Gardens, an outdoor/indoor market with all kinds of artisans, shops, and food. This was the very place that Henry Higgins found his favorite pupil Eliza Doolittle working as a flower seller. After roaming through the market we decided to go back to Parliament Square as the tour never actually made a stop there. We took countless touristy photos and then took the audio tour of Westminster Abbey. We were blown away by how ornate the abbey was. It was truly breathtaking! The amount of money that kings and queens spent on tombs was outstanding. Henry VII had a tomb built for him and his queen that cost the modern day equivalent of £500,000!
Because we felt like we had become familiar with the layout of the city we decided to walk from Wesminster Abbey back to our hotel only four tube stops down. With no map and no real sense of direction in London we ended up one tube stop from our hotel..... two hours later! Needless to say we were exhausted at this point in our day so we quickly packed our things in our room and went out for a fish and chips and a pint at the Gloucester Arms, a pub just blocks from our hotel.
Tired and full we went back to our hotel and proceeded to make ridiculous video blogs--coming soon! As it was our last night in London Sophie came over and took us out to her favorite bar/club The Roadhouse. Unfortunately we were both completely unprepared to be in the same room with more attractive guys than we had ever seen in our entire lives and tried to avoid contact as much as possible because of the hobo-esque look we were sporting. Naturally we look forward to returning to London very soon to husband shop. It was a great way to say goodbye to one our favorite cities.
Nine hours later we were on a plane to our home destination. We landed in Nice and took an autobus to Cannes, about 40 min outside Nice. We were glad that London acted as a buffer for the culture shock that we experienced once we landed in France. I mean for one, they speak French here. Everything is in French. We did our best to try to read road signs and bilboards as we made our way to Cannes to refamiliarize ourselves with the language we haven't studied for quite some time now.
After our orientation meeting we were helped to our rooms by guys who were either French and spoke perfect English or American with perfect French... we are determined to find out there story and will report back soon. Our room is quaint and orange. Very orange. We don't know much about our classes or the program yet (meeting about all that is tomorrow) but we do know that we need to carry around our 4x6 student ID cards at all times as well as our Medieval-Hogwarts style keys and are not allowed to miss class (which we have five days a week... doesn't leave much time for weekend traveling). Those things were made very, very clear.
After all the excitement of the past few days we are looking forward to a quiet night in. Look forward to more thoughts on Cannes coming soon.
An hour later we were on a bus with tour guide Nikki who told us all about London. We rode in the coach with her for about three hours as she told us all kinds of interesting facts about the city. Unfortunately we only got off the coach at a few places for only a few minutes... just enough time to snap a few pictures with an extended arm, hoping to get some of whatever was behind us in the photo so we could prove we were actually there. The tour was a perfect way for us to get acclimated to the city. We saw many of London's historic landmarks--Big Ben, the House of Parliament, West Minster Abbey, St. Pauls Cathedral, the Lord Mayor's home, among many other sites. It was interesting to see how parts of the city was rebuilt after the war, however there was one cathedral that had been partly destroyed by shrapnel during the war but never recovered to remain as a reminder of the great war.We passed Fleet Street and heard tales of the demon barber, passed a cathedral whose spire influnced the tiered wedding cake form we are used to today, a pub called The Hung Drawn and Quartered named as such in reference to the punishment many were given like William Wallace (Mel Gibson) in Braveheart, and our favorite, a pub named after Prince Albert who thought it fashionable to pierce every orifice of the body including his own personal jewels (now referred to as the Prince Albert).
We ended our city tour at Covent Gardens, an outdoor/indoor market with all kinds of artisans, shops, and food. This was the very place that Henry Higgins found his favorite pupil Eliza Doolittle working as a flower seller. After roaming through the market we decided to go back to Parliament Square as the tour never actually made a stop there. We took countless touristy photos and then took the audio tour of Westminster Abbey. We were blown away by how ornate the abbey was. It was truly breathtaking! The amount of money that kings and queens spent on tombs was outstanding. Henry VII had a tomb built for him and his queen that cost the modern day equivalent of £500,000!
Because we felt like we had become familiar with the layout of the city we decided to walk from Wesminster Abbey back to our hotel only four tube stops down. With no map and no real sense of direction in London we ended up one tube stop from our hotel..... two hours later! Needless to say we were exhausted at this point in our day so we quickly packed our things in our room and went out for a fish and chips and a pint at the Gloucester Arms, a pub just blocks from our hotel.
Tired and full we went back to our hotel and proceeded to make ridiculous video blogs--coming soon! As it was our last night in London Sophie came over and took us out to her favorite bar/club The Roadhouse. Unfortunately we were both completely unprepared to be in the same room with more attractive guys than we had ever seen in our entire lives and tried to avoid contact as much as possible because of the hobo-esque look we were sporting. Naturally we look forward to returning to London very soon to husband shop. It was a great way to say goodbye to one our favorite cities.
Nine hours later we were on a plane to our home destination. We landed in Nice and took an autobus to Cannes, about 40 min outside Nice. We were glad that London acted as a buffer for the culture shock that we experienced once we landed in France. I mean for one, they speak French here. Everything is in French. We did our best to try to read road signs and bilboards as we made our way to Cannes to refamiliarize ourselves with the language we haven't studied for quite some time now.
After our orientation meeting we were helped to our rooms by guys who were either French and spoke perfect English or American with perfect French... we are determined to find out there story and will report back soon. Our room is quaint and orange. Very orange. We don't know much about our classes or the program yet (meeting about all that is tomorrow) but we do know that we need to carry around our 4x6 student ID cards at all times as well as our Medieval-Hogwarts style keys and are not allowed to miss class (which we have five days a week... doesn't leave much time for weekend traveling). Those things were made very, very clear.
After all the excitement of the past few days we are looking forward to a quiet night in. Look forward to more thoughts on Cannes coming soon.
Friday, January 30, 2009
London? In the words of Lil Mama “We Kilt It”
Our fellow Americans – Greetings from London
For those of you who are not partial to the fascinating phrases of one, Lil Mama, "kilt" is a synonym for dominated and that is pretty much what we have done. The pair of us have been in London for a day and a h
alf and already feel like experienced world travelers. We spent the entire first day exploring the city carrying our 15lb backpacks. Despite our obvious handicap, we managed to see some spectacular sites. First visiting Shakespeare's Globe Theater where we were in a group with tourists from Italy, France and Australia. Our guide translated most of the interesting points into French for the others and the two of us shared a moment of collective panic as we realized that very soon we will be the ones needing a translation (or at least a really good audio guide!)
Despite our fears we soldiered on to the Tower of London. It was about to close so we raced to the Crown Jewels – each of us picked out our favorite and took them as souvenirs. We kid – but seriously, the Queen's jewelry is pretty bitchin'. We then attempted to get into Harrod's but were stopped by the doorman. Apparently they don't allow enormous backpacks into one of the grandest shopping stores in the world – who knew?! Now that we had some time to kill (we couldn't help ourselves) we popped into a Starbucks for a hot chocolate and comfy couch to rest our aching feet. That night we met up with Sophie (Tara's little sis who now lives in London) Andy and Austin. It was cool seeing faces from home even though it made the whole experience feel a bit surreal. We spent the night at Sophie's flat in Notting Hill – which, we must say is not as advertised – no Hugh Grant or Julia Roberts anywhere. We marveled at how tiny everything in the flat was - then remembered that London was built for Hobbits and were instantly okay with it. Navigating around the city is super easy as the Tube, and it's color-coded route maps, make everything a breeze!
Today was another day of domination. Saw the Annie Leibovitz exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery. Galavanted around Trafalger Square and eventually met some students going to Cannes. We joined Austin, Andy and Andy's roommate, Ben, for a pint of beer in a local pub. Being our first beer in London and first pint ever…let's just say the hops got us good. We had a fabulous stroll through Kensington Gardens and wound up at Andy's favorite restaurant, My Old Dutch. What does one order at a Dutch restaurant in London you may ask…ummmm, only the LARGEST crepes you've ever seen. They were fabulous.
Tonight we enjoyed Billy Elliot the musical and think that the kid who played Billy was retarded (note to readers, we will be using retarded as a synonym for AMAZING from now on!) The kid was like twelve and could back flip off of walls. Off walls for goodness sake! Resisting our urge to steal the talented child, which may or may not be illegal here, we are now back at the Holiday Inn-Kensington. We still have one more day in London ahead of us, so look out because there is a lot more ahead.
Stay tuned for:
- Day three in London
- Two Girls, One Cannes actually being in Cannes
- And a lot more amazing shenanigans
Leave us a comment because we'd love to hear from you or e-mail us personally at twogirls.onecannes@gmail.com !!!
Peace,
Mofftar
*This section is where we are going to do a special shout out to our friends from back home.*
This post goes out to Brian Drummy – we saw a British musical and visited the Globe – how much more B-Drum can you get!? Hope you're well, buddy.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Twas the Night Before Departure
Our Fellow Americans--Welcome to our Blog!
We are so excited about everything that is ahead of us, and even more excited to take you along via Two Girls, One Cannes. To kick start Volume I in a unique, fun way we decided to do a good old Q&A. Below you will find Part Uno of the questionnaire each of us completed individually. It will give our fellow blog-followers some incite into our thoughts and feelings as we prepare to embark on one of the greatest adventures of our lives. Enjoy!
PART UNO
What do you still have left to do to prepare for your trip?
Marissa: I still need to pack. I'm sure I will be making several trips to Target before I leave.
Tara: I definitely need to pack. I know that I will put it off until the last minute. Anything I have purchased for the trip is still in its bag in my garage.
What is one item you absolutely cannot travel without?
Marissa: My passport! lol but really I cannot travel without my camera.
Tara: My laptop. I need a way to communicate with everyone from home and keep the blog updated.
What has been most surprising to you as you prepare for your trip?
Marissa: I never knew it was so difficult to get a French Visa!! haha and I am actually rather surprised at how nervous I am getting as we get closer to our departure day.
Tara: I've been surprised by how many people have been to Europe and offered up some great advice. Despite Cannes being one of the lesser known French cities many people have been there and have gotten us really excited about going.
What entertainment are you bringing with you on your long flight to Europe?
Marissa: The 30 movies we put on the external harddrive and the ten travel books I got for Christmas!... Lots of reading!
Tara: I have to have something good to read so of course I am bringing a Harry Potter book. I wanted to re-read Half-Blood Prince before the film came out, so the flight overseas will be a good chance to do that. I bought Watchmen because I've been looking forward to reading it for a long time. Also, I've got my iPod fully loaded with podcasts and other playlists I refuse to listen to until I'm on the plane.
What is the last meal you plan on having in America before you leave?
Marissa: Probably shredded beef tacos... I am going to miss Mexican food so much!
Tara: In-N-Out! I've already told my parents that we are stopping to have a burger on our way to LAX.
Have you ever been to France before? If so, when and where?
Marissa: Yes. It has always been a dream of mine to go to France. I believe I was in 1st grade and I was learning about Claude Monet and made it a goal to one day visit his home and gardens in Giverney. My dream came true the summer after I graduated from high school when my family took a two week trip to France spending time in Normandy, Rouen, Giverney, Deauville and Paris.
Tara: I visited France in '04. We went to Paris and visited all of the major tourist attractions but nothing outside of that.
What are you most looking forward to throughout your stay in Cannes?
Marissa: I look forward to experiencing European culture as a "citizen" and not just a tourist. I am looking forward to just jumping on a train and being able to visit any European country. Also super excited to live on the Mediterranean... might be tough.
Tara: I am definitely looking forward to experiencing a different cultural climate. I feel like everyone has a specific perception of France, including myself, and Cannes seems to be in a completely different realm. I just want to take everything in and appreciate the beauty the south of France has to offer. Also, I look forward to all of the yachts Marissa and I will be invited on by handsome millionaires.
Choose three words that you feel best describe Cannes.
Marissa: Luxurious, beautiful, beach town
Tara: Beautiful, Affluent, Festival
Describe one thing you have never done that you hope to do in Europe?
Marissa: yacht party? haha
Tara: Get arrested! Jooooke.
What reservations do you have about traveling in Europe?
Marissa: I am concerned about the language barrier but am excited to pick up words from all languages.
Tara: Having something stolen. I can't even count the number of people who warn me about keeping my belongings safe. Even though they mean well, they have me a bit paranoid that all Europeans are pick-pockets straight out of a Charles Dickens novel.
What food are you most excited to try?
Marissa: Any and all food really.... I'm super excited about French cuisine.
Tara: I'm not necessarily excited to try it, but I've heard amazing things about froix gras. It might be slightly unethical but maybe I'll go to a farm where they treat the geese humanely before they force-feed and cook them.
Which food will you absolutely never try?
Marissa: There's really not a whole lot I wouldn't eat... maybe any animal organs that should have never become a delicacy.
Tara: Haggis. We may or may not wind up in Scotland, but I am making it known now that I WILL NOT try haggis.
What will you miss the most about home?
Marissa: Definitely miss my family.... and my dog! oh and my queen sized bed.
Tara: Familiar faces. I know that I will do my best to keep in contact with everyone but just speaking with them face to face is what I will miss the most. I will miss my dogs too! I miss them when I'm at school so I know it will be hard being so far from them.
What would you like to say your friends and relatives before you leave?
Marissa: I will miss you all so much. Even though I am thousands of miles away I still have skype/facebook/email so keep me posted on your lives! And don't forget to read about our travels on our blog.
Tara: I love you tons! Keep in touch. Don't miss me too much (as if you would!) because I cannot wait to return and share many awesome stories with you all. Leave comments on the blog because just knowing that your reading will inspire me to write more often.
What are you most looking forward to about traveling with Tara/Marissa?
Marissa: This is going to be an incredible once in a lifetime experience and I am so excited to share it with such an amazing friend! We have lived together for six months now at Rose and that brought us even closer and now traveleing together will do the same. I cannot wait to look back in 30 years at the journey we are about to embark on.
Tara: I couldn't think of anyone better to share this adventure with than Marissa Suzanne Moffitt. We have already done so many exciting things together; I know this trip will elevate our friendship to a whole new level. She'll be someone to laugh with on the long flights, the one who finds my passport when I leave it, ohhhh just about everywhere, and a friendly face to remind me of home. Besides, One Girl, One Cannes just doesn't have the same ring to it!
-MoffTar
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