NYC: Times Square, 5th Ave., and all that jazz...

So, this blog is being transformed from a France blog to a general travel blog :)

I had my interview in Rochester, NY this past Friday and took Ben with me. Since we were (semi) close to NYC, we decided to tour the city that never sleeps!

I'll start with our brief stay in Rochester. Downtown Rochester is not very big and there isn't much to do. I have a feeling that most of the young life around Rochester is located near the campus. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Rochester and had a nice dinner at the hotel and watched the movie, "The Proposal." I wouldn't mind spending 4 years in Rochester despite the lack of "city atmosphere." There are a lot of outdoorsy activities available and it has a great performing arts scene.

Now onto the REAL weekend. We arrived at JFK at about 10am. We then tested our public transit skills by taking the airtrain, LIRR train, bus, and subway to our hotel in Times Square, the Renaissance. We were literally in Times Square! I could look out our window and see the NY Times news ticker. After taking a quick break at the hotel, we explored a little bit of Times Square (saw the Naked Cowboy) and decided to take a bus tour of the city. This allowed us to see all the big sites--madison square gardens, empire state building, Macy's, ground zero, little italy, chinatown, soho, lower eastide, UN building, hotels, brooklyn bridge, Radio City Music Hall, central park, and everything that is NY. We also took a ferry to Liberty and Ellis Island to see the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately, they weren't allowing anyone to climb up in the statue that day :(

We also stoppped at Canal St. for lunch. Canal st is where little chinese ladies show you pictures of designer purses, sunglasses, and watches and you follow them into this little room where they keep all of their merchandise. I ended up with a $30 coach purse and $10 Chanel sunglasses :) After the tour, Ben and I bought some tickets for Chicago on Broadway, went back to the hotel to change, ate some dinner (NY pizza-delicious!) and headed to the play.

Chicago was incredible! It is the best play/musical I have ever seen. The plot was great--entertaining and engaging. The costumes/acting/dancing/singing were amazing! I LOVED it. I still can't get some of the songs out of my head. After the play, Ben and I headed to a bar off of Times Square called Havana Central. They had some really good sangria and a live band. The perfect end to the perfect day.

On Sunday, we slept in and then went to lunch at an Irish pub, O'Connelys, off of 5th avenue. It was very good! I got fish and chips and Ben got a Turkey Cuban panini. We then window shopped in a couple of the stores on 5th avenue--Prada, Gucci, Tiffany's, and the apple store.

We then went and had some ice cream in Central Park--very relaxing. They were actually fliming something about global warming while we were there...interesting. After relaxing in Central Park, we headed back to Madison Avenue to continue our shopping. I found some really great deals...and shoes and purses :) After our shopping, we headed to the airport to fly back to Atlanta. Our flight was delayed 90 minutes due to rain in Atlanta.

In summary, New York was wonderful! It was everything I expected and more.

Lucerne, Switzerland

I spent Friday packing/traveling to Lucerne, Switzerland. Ben and I arrived in Lucerne at 9pm, checked into our hotel (Hotel Ambassador), and set out to explore Lucerne and find a place to eat dinner. We ended up eating at a place called Cafe Gretel. The waiter was really nice and friendly and Ben and I both had tomato soup and ciabattas--it was delicious :)

This morning we woke up early, had some breakfast at the hotel, and headed for Mount Pilatus. We took the cable car halfway up the mountain and then stopped to do some toboggan sledding, which was fun. We then continued all the way to the top with the cable car and hiked around the peak. Unfortunately, it was very foggy and we couldn't see much, but what we saw was very pretty. While we were at the peak we saw some yodelers and other people playing these long Swiss horns--it was really interesting to see/hear. I loved being up in the Swiss mountains--it reminded me of Heidi. I also love that wherever you are you can hear the jingling of the goat bells somewhere on the mountain. While we were hiking, we actually saw a mountain goat pretty close to us. Another thing I liked was that there were tiny flowers everywhere in the grass around the mountain. It was so pretty. After we headed down the mountain (again via cable car), we did some souvenir shopping, and I found some great gifts for my family (get excited).

Ben and I then dropped off our gifts at the hotel and headed out to the lake for some paddleboat action. It was so much fun and so relaxing! There were so many swans and ducks around us (another thing I love about Europe--swans everywhere) and the view was gorgeous! After our wonderful paddleboat ride, we had a snack while overlooking the lake.

For dinner, we went to a Pizzeria and had some gelato for dessert (gelato is one thing I will definitely miss about Europe). We also went out to an Irish pub which was very cozy and had a nice atmosphere. We have to get up super early to catch our train to Paris tomorrow since I have to be at the airport at 2 :(

I really don't want to leave--this has been such an incredible experience and I have loved all of it. I wish I could stay for another month. This has definitely been one of the best experiences of my life.

I spent Thursday morning in Nancy, which is about 30 minutes south of Metz by train. I first went to the tourism office to get a map. The map actually had suggested walking routes based on the amount of time you have available. While I studied the map, I had coffee at a cafe in Place Stanislas, a beautiful square in the middle of Nancy. I also quickly stopped at a famous "art noveau" glass shop, Daum Boutique. The little glass figures were so intricate, beautiful, and EXPENSIVE.

I then started on my little walking route. One of the first things I came to was the Jardin Godron, a mini botanical garden, which alone made the trip to Nancy worthwhile. The flowers were beautiful, and I got some great pictures.

The rest of the walking route featured some "art noveau" architecture, a couple of cute squares, and Nancy's fine art museum. The paintings where very similar to the museum in Strausburg--strong religious/Roman theme. The bottom floor, however, was devoted to art noveau decorative items--bowls, vases, candlesticks, etc... very intricate and beautiful.

Before heading home, I bought a torte de Lorraine and had lunch in the Parc de la Pepiniere. They had a rose garden and a mini animal zoo with peacocks, goats, monkeys, horses, and donkeys.

Strasbourg

Today I went to Strasbourg. I caught the 7:48am train and got to Strasbourg around 9:30. As I was walking to the Notre Dame Cathedral, I stopped by a restaurant recommended by my travel book, Winter Patisserie. There, I had a croissant and coffee for breakfast. It was the cutest little place. It was really cozy inside, and they had really well designed cakes, cookies, and candy. I then continued to the cathedral while checking out some of the tourist shops. It seemed like every place sold glockenspiels, German beer mugs, and miniature versions of the houses. I resisted the urge to buy anything though :)

I finally came to the cathedral; it was huge--definitely a focus point in Strasbourg. It had the usual sculpture and detailing on the outside with stained glass windows. I have to say that the stained glass windows in this cathedral have been my favorite. They also had a beautifully ornate organ and other decorations. I also decided to climb to the three-hundred something stairs to get to the lookout point at the top of the cathedral--the view was great.

After my adventures in the cathedral, I got some chocolate hazelnut gelato (so delicious!), and I went to tour the museum of decorative arts and paintings in the Palace of Rohan. The decorative arts museum was gorgeous! There was so much intricate detail put into everything during that time period. The paintings were very interesting as well--a very strong religious/roman theme.

Then, I went on a boat tour of Strasbourg. It was pretty interesting and seeing the entire city via the river was really pretty. I love the German influence on the architecture. After my boat tour, I went to "winstub" for some lunch. I got munster cheese and a fischer beer for lunch--very tasty! Before I headed back to Metz, I explored some of the other areas of the city including "le petite france." It was all very pretty, and it was nice to get see some of the German culture as well.

When I arrived back in Metz, I met up with Ben and Tiernan to eat their favorite food in France--kababs. Basically lamb, lettuce, and sauce in a pita. It was pretty good, but very filling. Tomorrow I head for Nancy--Au Revoir!

Metz

Ben and I overslept this morning, so we ended up missing the train that went to the vineyard. It's ok though because we spent the day exploring downtown Metz. We went to "Le Jeep" for lunch. I had the Capri Pizza (mushrooms, ham, and cheese) and Ben ordered the "cheeseburger" which ended up being a beef patty with eggs on top? Who knows--it's France.

Then, we went to the train station to buy my tickets for Nancy and Strasbourg. They had another really cute jewelry/accessory store in the station where I got some nice earrings and a purse :)

Afterwards, we walked through the streets of Metz to Cathedrale St-Etienne. The cathedral was beautiful. It had very intricate sculptures on the exterior and beautiful stained glass windows inside. While we were walking from the cathedral, Ben saw a bike rental shop, and we decided to tour the rest of Metz on bike. It was a little scary at first (and difficult because I decided to wear a long dress that day--brilliant, I know), but we then found a scenic little path along the river. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. We saw the oldest theatre in France, some churches, and some old military towers. Metz also has all of these cute wooden bridges with flowers on them all down the river--very pretty. Although Metz is a lot smaller than Paris, it still has substantial French charm. I love the architecture--the little iron-wrought terraces with flower pots on every building, the cobblestone streets, and the outdoor cafes. The suburbs of Metz remind me a little bit of South Africa. The houses all have their own, unique style--some modern, some traditional. All in all--not a bad place to live/study for a couple of months.

Le Train Bleu & Sacre Coeur

I just realized I forgot to write about night #3 in Paris. As I mentioned before, we went to dinner at Le Train Bleu, a beautifully ornate restaurant in the Gare de Lyon train station. Dinner was amazing (as usual in Paris). We got a bottle of bordeaux, and I have to say it's my new favorite red wine even though I'm not a big red wine fan. Ben and I both got the lamb with blue cheese. It was soooo good, but I couldn't finish because the portions were huge.

We then headed to Montmartre to see Sacre Coeur. On our way there, we stopped at this really cute store with AMAZING jewelry. I bought a couple of pairs of earrings and a purse. Sunday was definitely the day for climbing stairs. As we left the store, we saw the outline of the basilica with about 100 stairs leading up to it, so we started climbing. The view at the top was definitely worth all the effort. The sun was just setting, and it was so picturesque. There were so many people on the steps just enjoying the view while some street vendors were selling mini eiffel tower and playing on their accordions. After enjoying the view, we explored the area surrounding Sacre Coeur. There was a little market where artists wanted to draw your picture for some money, and little stores and food shops every block. We could see all of Paris from the top of Montmartre, and it was beautiful--definitely a night to remember :)

Shopping in Paris

Ben and I decided that instead of trying to travel somewhere today, we would take advantage of some Paris shopping. We had breakfast at a cafe near the Eiffel Tower and started off our journey with a chocolate eclaire (delicious!). Before we started shopping, we went to Gard l'Est to book our train tickets to Metz for later in the day.

We started off on Rue de Rennes and went into a bunch of really cute stores selling household items. We also stopped in a couple of shoe stores. Afterwards, we headed up though the Latin Quarter to Antoine et Lille and some other boutiques. We then stopped to have a cheese plate for lunch. We sampled some brie (camembert), blue cheese, and emmantel--they were all very good. We then headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags, and some amazing gelato on the way. They shaped the ice cream into a flower on your cone.

The train ride to Metz wasn't very long at all, and I spent the time reading "Nights in Rodanthe" by Nicholas Sparks while Ben watched some t.v. shows on his iPhone. The TGV trains were surprisingly comfortable--very roomy, clean, and open.

I haven't had the chance to see much of Metz, but Ben and I are hopefully going to a vineyard nearby tomorrow to sample some wine.

P.S. They finally found my bag and delivered it to our hotel the last night we were in Paris.

Ile de la Cite and the Left Bank

This morning we headed over to the Latin Quarter in search of Fromagerie 31, a cheese shop Ben had heard about. Unfortunately, when we arrived, the owner told us that he did not hold cheese tastings on Sundays, but Ben and I went to a nearby cafe and had a croissant and coffee for breakfast--very french :) I also this really cute shop I want to go back to tomorrow called Antoine et Lille. They had the cutest dresses.

After getting some breakfast we headed over to the Ile de la Cite to see the Notre Dame and St. Chapelle. The St. Chapelle was absolutely breathtaking. The decorating, paintings, and stained glass windows were se detailed and beautiful. We toured the Notre Dame during a church service. Hearing the preacher and the choir singing really enhanced the experience. We then waited in like for about an hour to climb to the top of Notre dame (but it was well worth it). While we were waiting, this guy in a mask would do a bit where we would put on his scary mask and go up to people while they weren't paying attention and scare them--it was pretty funny. The climb to the top was a good little bit of a workout--400 steps, but the view was amazing. You could see Paris in every direction.



After the Notre Dame, we stopped to buy some sandwiches and had a picnic on the left bank next to the Seine--very beautiful and relaxing. We then went to Berthillon (known around Paris for its ice cream) for dessert. I had a strawberry and chocolate ice cream, and Ben had a rum raisin, strawberry, and caramel ice cream--both were very good.

Before heading home for the day, we stopped to tour the Opera Garnier. They say it looks like a wedding cake, and for good reason. It is very ornate, but very beautiful.

Tonight we are heading to Le Train Bleu for dinner and then to Sacre Coeur afterwards. Au Revoir!

Le Tastevin and the River Seine

Last night we went to a restaurant called Le Tastevin on the Ile St. Louis. It was an authentic french restaurant, and we got a seat right by the window looking out on the street--tres romantique. We both got the filet mignon. Ben got scallions for his side, and I got foie gras. The foie gras actually tasted pretty good, but I couldn't mentally get over the fact that it was goose liver.
We then went for a boat ride on the seine on the Bateux Mouches, a large boat with tourist commentary. It was beautiful--definitely a great way to see Paris. We saw the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Notre Dame, and much more. On our way back the little lights on the Eiffel Tower started twinkling--so pretty! All in all, a WONDERFUL night.

Louvre, Arc de Triomph, Parc Monceau

We started off today by having a HUGE breakfast at a cafe near our hotel. We got chocolate croissants, orange juice, coffee, bread with jam, and an omelette. After breakfast, we headed to the Louvre. The lines to get in weren't bad at all and we spent most of our time in the Richeleu wing. My favorite part was definitely Napoleon's apartments. They were gorgeous!

After the Louvre, we headed to a little restaurant called Angelina famous for its hot chocolate. Ben and I split the hot chocolate, and there's a reason it's famous. It was thick, rich, and VERY chocolaty. The restaurant itself was beautifully decorated with painted walls and gold-guilded mirrors. The waitress only spoke to us in French, which I liked.

We then headed to the Toullerie gardens and rode a Ferris wheel which gave us an amazing view of the city. I heard some people in the line behind us speaking Afrikaans, which was pretty neat. Next, we walked through the gardens to the Musee L'orangerie and saw a lot of paintings by Monet, Renoir, and Picasso. They were beautiful. After that, we walked through the Place de La Concorde to Pont Alexandre, a beautiful bridge. On our way there, a guy picked up a ring and tried to give it to Ben, but I had read that it's a scam the pickpockets use, so we quickly hurried away. After seeing Pont Alexandre, we walked past the Grand Palace and the Petit Palace, down the Champs Elysses (where we popped in a few purse stores like Louis Vuitton to look around), and to the Arc de Triomph.

We then took the metro to Parc Monceau, which was beautiful as well. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the cafe to have a late lunch. Ben had a hamburger and fries, and I got the cheese plate (goat cheese with some toast).

We are heading to Tastevin for dinner at 7pm and afterwards we will be taking a boat ride on the Seine.

Day 2 of Paris was definitely not a disappointment :)

Eiffel Tower

I'm finally here!! and it's incredible!

I had quite the eventful journey over here. The flight itself was fine. I drifted in and out of sleep the entire flight, which was good. My only complaint was that they left the cabin lights on until 4am and it was freezing on the plane. When I got to the airport, I breezed through customs, got my first bag and waited for the second bag to arrive, and waited, and waited...

Yes, the lost one of my bags. After being the last person from my flight still standing at the carousal waiting in vain, I went to file a report. I then walk out to arrivals expecting to see Ben waiting for me. He's not there, and all the tears I'd been holding back come flooding out (in front of about 100 people). I find a pay phone to call him, and I FINALLY reunite with him, and everything starts looking better. Moral of the story: airports hate me.

We then took the metro to our hotel. We are staying at Hotel le Cadran and it's amazing! After relaxing at the hotel, we headed to the Eiffel Tower (Restaurant 58) for dinner. Paris has exceeded my expectations. The buildings are gorgeous with beautiful flowers on every terrace, trees lining the sidewalks, and cafes every 10 feet. It's wonderful!

When I saw the Eiffel Tower, I was so excited. It felt so surreal to be standing there. Eating in the Eiffel Tower will be something I will never forget. The view was breathtaking, the service impeccable, and the food--oh my goodness, the food-- was incredible. I've never tasted better chicken in my life. After dinner, Ben and I got some ice cream and sat on the Champs de Mars to enjoy the view of the Eiffel Tower. I couldn't have asked for a better night--it was perfect!

Bon Voyage!

I'm leaving for Paris tonight at 11pm! WOW.

It still feels so surreal. I get more and more excited the closer I get to leaving. I have my itinerary all set, I'm almost packed, and the electronics are charging.

I'm going to try and update this every day, but here is the basic plan:
July 3-6: Paris
July 7-9: Travel around Alsace-Lorraine province (Route du Vin--yeah!)
July 10-11: Switzerland (Interlaken and Luzern)
July 12: Back to Paris to shop/catch the plane

Au Revoir!