Pub Quiz

The English department at the University of Pau (This would be for french students who are learning English) put on a quiz at a pub called the Garage. (The garage reminds me of Applebees or Hudsons with all kinds of random stuff on the wall!) The quiz was all Halloween based questions. For example: Which horror film has had the most sequels? They also incorporated some questions on Halloween music and photos of celebrities dressed in Halloween costumes. It was really fun. The pub was packed and we got join teams with a group of french students. We didn't win, but our team did pretty well anyways. The winners did receive a huge bag of candy and some free champagne. Quite a few people dressed up and of course there was candy! It's fun to see Halloween growing in popularity here!

Our team (both sides of the table)

La Grève

As many of you know France has been on a strike the last few weeks. What does the strike entail you might ask? Well, the high school students don't go to class, instead they wait outside the university playing guitars around a bonfire. They also stacked all the dumpsters in front of the gateway so no one can get in. At the university it's the same thing except that they stacked desks and chairs in front of the doorways and some of them are sleeping in the school.

Luckily, they leave one side door open for study abroad students which we have to knock on before they will let us in. I do feel bad walking through their strike to go to my class and I always get some weird looks. Other industries that are on strike in my region are the buses, trains, garbage men (yup, there are stacks of garbage lining the streets) and gas stations.

As far as the political reasons for the strike, the main purpose of the strike to resist the government bill to change the retirement age. Here is a good article that explains everything in easy terms:

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/10/21/france.pension.strikes/index.html

Also, if you'd like to watch one of the protests here is a quick look into what it's like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXtxXlo5t6Y&feature=related

Galvarnie

Is it bad if I didn't want to add another post because I was at the nice number of 25? haha

Last weekend I went on a USAC excursion to Galvarnie which is a place in the Pyrenees which happens to contain Europe's tallest waterfall. Before we made it there we stopped in Nay to visit a Beret Museum. We watched a video explaining how the berets are made and all of its cultural purposes and history. My favorite part of the video was when an old man said he'd use it as a weapon by putting a rock inside and swinging it around. Kept them away apparently. Also, the beret can indicate a mood by the way it is tilted. I caved and bought a beret- but not a traditional one. After the video we saw all of the old machinery. There are lots of steps. They shrink the berets after making them by pounding them together which is also what makes them waterproof. They are died and then combed. The inside is made of real silk and is sewn in with a leather strip around it. There are two sizes to a beret, the circumference for the head and the circumference for the top. After the tour, we were able to try on tons of berets and hats which was super fun.

Sewing the silk for the inside

Look at the difference: Before and After

Crazy hats!

Once we arrived at Galvarnie, we had a nice mountain lunch which consisted of some type of duck soup. It was my first time trying duck and I thought it was alright, it was just really fatty. For dessert we had a sort of blueberry gelatin thing. Then we started our hike. It was about an hour and a half to get to the waterfall. It was very beautiful and there were some fall colors (Not nearly as nice as Techs) There were donkeys and horses you could rent to ride around the mountainside! If I knew how to ride, I would love to do that! Instead I ended up walking and trying to avoid all of the animal poop.  Very beautiful territory and I took way more pictures than necessary, but that's not unusual for me!

I pet a cow! I was scared it would charge, but it just twitched!

There it is: The tallest waterfall

(That's my new beret)

On the way down Courtney and I went through basically every song from Les Miserables and other various musicals. We ate some crepes and then wandered in some touristy shops before hopping back on the bus back.

Chocolate Week

This week is chocolate week on campus. Yesterday the dorms served chocolate beef and today was chocolate chicken. I never thought I would taste those two things together in my life. Enough said

Rome, Italy (Day Three)

Final day in Rome was catch up day. We started out the day by touring the church that was designed by Michaelagelo. It was pretty cool because it had a Galeleo display in part of it. It had all of these quotes about the mixture of science and religion. My favorite was when he said, "God wrote the book of nature in the form of a mathematical language. God gave us two books, that of sacred scripture and the other of nature and the language of nature is mathematics" I think I chose the right major :) It was a pretty church that is still in use. Lots of paintings everywhere of course and high arched ceilings.

Next we walked to a park that had some cool ruins. There were these ancient gates which according to myth were supposed change material into gold. The coolest part about these ruins though is that they were inhabited by cats!!! There were at least ten just chillin' in the ruins like it was their home. They came up to us and I wanting to pet them so badly, but I refrained for practical reasons.

"The Portal"

Next we took the metro back the Vatican. The Pope normally gives blessings on Sundays in Saint Peter's Square and we were hoping to see him there. When we arrived at the square we asked a priest about where to look for him and he told us to look at the second window at noon and the Pope will pop out just like a coo-coo clock! haha We ate a super early lunch and chilled in the square for a couple hours waiting. Then the screens started playing a mass with the Pope. We watched the mass and learned afterword that it was a live broadcast from Sicily. I guess seeing the Pope will have to wait for next time! We were a little disappointed that we had waiting around for nothing, but it was still cool to see the mass with it's impressive choirs. (It was odd that I knew what was happening in the latin parts more than the italian parts) We did also get to take a lot of fun photos with the Vatican :)

The last thing on our long to-do list in Rome was to go see the Face of Truth. The Face of Truth is a big stone face that resides in the oldest church in Rome. The tradition is to stick your hand inside the mouth and make a statement. If it is a lie, then a fish will bite off your hand. Courtney and I waited in line and stuck in our hands declaring "I love Chris/ Dennis" and came away with all hands in tact!

We ended our trip to Rome appropriately with some Gelato and one last look at the Colosseum. Then we went to the train station. We were worried about being short on time and we accidentally got on a train that was headed to Pisa. Luckily we got off before it left and found our real train and made it to the airport on time. Check in took forever and we barely made it to the gate on time- the plane was delayed anyways so in the end it all worked out. I saw everything I wanted to (minus the Pope) and made it there and back safe and sound.

Rome, Italy (Day Two)

For day two Courtney and I woke up super early to go check out the lines to get into the Vatican museum since we did not have a reservation and knew that it would be a long wait. We took the metro for the first time in Rome and bought some Italian scarves on the way. We got there at eight and waited in line until nine when we finally made it in. We asked the guy about students discounts and when I showed him my ID card the convo went as follows:

"You're 18 right?"
"No, I'm 20."
"No, you're 18"
"Right, yes I am 18"

And so that is how we came to lie to get into the Vatican at half price. We rented some audio guides to help us through the huge maze of artwork and such in the museum. There were some truly amazing things inside. I got to see a real preserved mummy and the beautifully decorated coffins which have stories painted all over them. I looked at the Roman vases that we studied in my art history class and even found one that we had studied! I saw old chariots, shields, hundreds of sculptures (many of them bizarre, lots of them tell stories), painted ceilings and painted walls. The sistine chapel was truly amazing, by the time I left I had a crick in my neck from looking up for so long. I loved seeing the bible spread out across the ceiling in pictures. There was a hall of tapestries, hall of maps, hall of statues, a courtyard with a random statue of a pinecone, a modern art section, Egyptian quarters, the Raphael rooms and many other rooms as well. Many of the wall paintings were done while the plaster was drying so that the painting becomes part of the wall- no pressure or anything for the artists.

One of the Raphael rooms

We ate lunch in the Vatican- this time we had to try real Italian pizza. It was very delicious, thinned crusted with cucumbers, cheese and some type of pepperoni. Then we left the museums to visit Saint Peter's square and the Basilica. The square is surrounded by tons of pillars which I believe were taken from the old pagan temple of Venus. We had to follow a dress code- no tank tops, cleavage or knees and we also had to go through security like at an airport! The square which is actually circular is very symmetrical. The buildings have statues on the top which overlook the square. I loved them- they seemed a little like guardians watching over everything.

First we walked up 551 steps to get to the top of the Basilica and see the view. The staircase near the top was so narrow, it was quite claustrophobic. It was a spiral staircase and the walls weren't straight and I am glad that I did it while I am still young :) Anyways the view was very beautiful.

See where I'm pointing, that's where we were

Also when we were in the square a man asked me to take his photo in French. I had a whole conversation with him and I was so proud :) We also talked to some french women from Lyon on the metro. So we practiced a little that weekend :) The basilica is the biggest church in the world, holding over 60,000 people. Inside the basilica, there are three incorruptible bodies and the tomb which contains the remains of Saint Peter- one of the twelve apostles. Also below the basilica many of the Popes are buried- including Pope Jean Paul II- we viewed that part last, but couldn't take photos. In the inside there is one part of the church which is blocked off from tourists and is just for adoration. We went in there and prayed for a while. I also followed the tradition of rubbing the feet of the statue of Saint Peter. His feet are so smooth and worn down from all of the people who have touched them over the years.

The altar built over Saint Peter's tomb

Surrounding the Vatican there are Swiss guards. They guard the Pope and the Vatican. They follow very strict rules and they must be within a certain height and age. They also wear bright, striped uniforms.

After the Vatican we ate gelato. It is soooo delicious. Ice cream in the States will never seem good again! I absolutely love all of the fruity flavors like pineapple and raspberry. I could eat so much gelato! We walked to the Pantheon next.

Then we wandered around Piazza Novena which is a big marketplace/ square. There were lots of artist there doing portraits on the spot and selling all the famous scenes of Rome.

The Pantheon is the best preserved building from Roman times and was built to honor all of the Roman gods. The ceiling is a large dome with a hole at the top, it is also the largest concrete unsupported dome in the world. The floor is concave shaped with holes in it to drain the water from rain. It also contains the tomb of the first Italian king and the famous painter Raphael (The Raphael from the Raphael rooms that I saw in the museums). 

That night we searched for a cheaper restaurant, but couldn't find one so we ended up eating at the train station super close to our hostel. We ordered spaghetti, but there was only one plate, so we bought one and shared it while they made another. I started singing to Courtney "This is the night, what a beautiful night and they call it Bella Notte" from Lady and The Tramp. It just so happened that some Italian guys decided to eat next to us. They spoke some English, but not the best. They talked to us for a while, I'm pretty sure they didn't understand a lot of what I said. (Like my explanation of why two female women were sharing a plate of spaghetti in a restaurant) Anyways they told me that I look Scandinavian which is a comment I get a lot lately. Then asked for our numbers. I could honestly say that I have no European phone, but he gave me his number anyways saying that he worked at the station and if we needed any help we could call him. Then Courtney asked him about luggage storage. haha Poor guy, shut down and then right back to work.

Rome, Italy (Day One)

Courtney and I traveled to Rome this past weekend. We flew through city line swiss and then had to take a train to Termini station, the main train station in Rome. Our hostel was a few minutes walk from there, it took us a little while to get oriented, but we found it eventually and the owner was very nice. We grabbed some maps and headed off to begin our trip with the most famous landmark of Rome- the colosseum. It was only twenty minutes walk on foot.

We ended up hiring an English tour guide to take us through the colosseum, the Palatine and the Roman Forum. This way we could skip the huge lines to get inside AND know what we were actually seeing. The inside was really cool. He explained to us that the four levels were divided by class and that there were actually specific arches for people of each class to enter through. The arches are marked by Roman Numerals so that they knew which one was theirs. The women had to sit on the very top level! What chivalry! The stadium could fit about 55,000 people. The games were free to watch and even included free bread and sometimes wine. They were an all day event. Part of it collapsed from an earthquake and has had some repair on it, but it has been there since 70 a.d. They had chambers under the stage where they could keep the animals for the shows. They would keep the lions in complete darkness for up to 72 hours beforehand so that when they were released, it would be blinded by the sun and the gladiators would have the advantage. 

After we explored the colosseum, our tour group went next to the Palatine Hill which is the ruins of the old palace and also the place where it is said that Romulus killed his twin brother Remus and took the throne for himself. We saw the remains of a chariot racing track- which was located INSIDE the palace. The palace walls used to be completely covered in marble and the chambers were huge. We went inside what used to be the largest room, the tallest room and the throne room. Also there is one newer building on Palatine Hill, the old house of Mussolini. 

The "indoor" chariot track 

We concluded the tour by going to Roman Forum which used to be the center of Rome. It has many ruins of Pagan temples, including the temple of the Vestal Virgins and the tomb of Julius Cesaer. One of the temples still has it's original bronze doors. The tomb of Julius Cesaer is now in ruins and is basically just a pile of dirt, but still it is there. There are just tons of pillars standing on there own, hinting at what used to be. When Christianity spread across Rome, the church took many materials from the pagan temples to build their own churches leaving much of it ruin. It is a very awesome place to visit. Here is the view from above of the Forum.

During the tour, our guide told us about a city it Italy that has a wine harvest celebration each year where they give out free wine to the people. They actually hook it up to the city lines so that wine comes out of the fountains! Apparently one year, they accidentally hooked it up to the wrong line and people had wine coming out of their showers! Also, in general Rome has a very clean water system with lots of public fountains where we could just stick our heads under for a drink or to fill up a water bottle.

While walking we passed many times a monument nick-named the wedding cake. It's real name is Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II and is built into Capitoline Hill to honor the first King of Italy. It is made out of pure white marble and holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Eternal Flame.

Next we had to visit the most famous fountain in Rome (which is saying a lot because there are A LOT of fountains in Rome!) the Trevi fountain. The tradition attached to this rather large fountain, is that one turns their back to the fountain and tosses in a coin while making a wish. It really is very large, very beautiful and very crowded, but Courtney and I made our wishes none-the-less!

Next we went to see the Spanish Steps. There are 138 steps which connect the Spanish Embassy with the Holy See. It was pretty at twilight, but we missed the summer season where there are flower markets all around. At the top there is a church, but there was a mass going on, so we couldn't look around.

We concluded our day with a nice sit down dinner at an Italian restaurant. We had real Italian pasta of course! Our waiter was an old Italian man who didn't speak much English. I think there was a lot of pretending to understand on both ends. haha Despite this he was truly friendly and I could tell that he just wanted us to have a great experience of Italian cuisine. It was very delicious. It was pasta with bacon in it! I couldn't finish it, but he didn't give me too hard of a time for it! He was very touchy in that he would pat our cheeks or grab our shoulders like a grandparent to their grandchild, but it was all well intentioned. At the end, Courtney and I received our first Italian Bizou which left our cheeks a little wet, but oh well :) He also gave us a discount which was rather nice. 

We walked back to our hostel which gave us a good chance to view the monuments all lit up at night. There are so many beautiful squares and fountains and little shops and ruins that there is constantly something to look at! I loved it! 

Verdier Chocolatier

We had another excursion the other day with my program. We went to the chocolate factory called Verdier Chocolatier. We took a small tour down a hallway which was lined with glass windows. We were able to watch the different steps to creating handmade candies. It was really cool to see all the machinery involved! I'm not sure how I'd feel about being the workers who are constantly observed from behind glass, but oh well. The chocolate was really delicious. Verdier is known for their chocolate covered raisons- they soak the raisons in wine before making them and they last for 9 months and are shipped all over the world. All and all, I ate a lot of chocolate in a short amount of time :)

After the tour, Courtney and I wandered around the downtown area. We got a little lost, but were able to communicate with the locals to find our way. We went through some cool shops and I bought some Christmas presents/ souvenirs :) We also ate lunch at a super good cafe. I bought one of my favorite french desserts. It was a mixed fruit tart.

Courtney and I decided that we wish there was a way to save tastes so that we could go back to it. My mouth is watering just remembering how wonderful it was. The downtown area is very pretty and I finally bought my skinny jeans. Overall it was a successful in day in downtown Pau and a fun day of French shopping.