Sunday, June 28, 2009

Really?!

Girl gets on bus with wicker hand bag. Girl sits down. Girl has a female manikin head (with hair) in wicker hand bag. Due to bumps in the road during bus ride, female manikin head (with hair) keeps popping up a little out of wicker hand bag. Girl gets frustrated. Girl angrily hits helpless female manikin head (with hair) two or three times in the forehead.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Really?!

Train ticket from Paris to Tours: $31. The facial expressions French people make when there is a baby crying next to them on a train: priceless. The portable neon green baby tent that that baby's mom is setting up in the middle of the isle: hopeless.

Inauguration Day: "Really?!"

I'm taking this entry to introduce a brand new segment to my blog. For one reason or another (or no reason at all), I think most things that I see and hear on any given day in my life are, in some way, funny. However, a few things just take the cake. Some things catch me so off guard that laughing doesn't even do them justice. I actually have to pause to think and stare for a few seconds and really take it in. Unfortunately, as satisfying as these moments are, within days (that's generous), they fade from memory and are lost forever... until now. From now on I'm going to document them right here on the internet where I can enjoy them time and time again, and of course, share them with you. I shall call them, Mini-Me. Wait, no. Sorry. These posts will be called "Really?!"

The Day After Day Two (ish)

My first day in Tours went exactly according to plan. My host family parents were having a big 25th wedding anniversary/double birthday party. When they first told me about it a couple months ago, I hadn't bought my plane ticket yet. That week, I bought my ticket but told them that I wouldn't be able to make it to the party. That was a lie. It's okay though, I wanted to surprise them. And I did.

I had made arrangements with Lucie, the older daughter, to get ready at a friends house and show up at the same time as all the other guests. That went swimmingly. Surprise! Shocked looks on faces. Good food. Good fun. Good night.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Day Two (ish)

There is some confusion to exactly what day I wrote this post. It was my second day on the trip but my first full day in France. Oh, and 12 hours of travel and an 8 hour time difference lost somewhere in between. Date: June 20, 2009. Again, no internet access.

I made it through an interesting first night with my cousin. Barbecue at a friend's followed by night out at a bar called the Vegas. In spite of hopes to limit my alcohol consumption, I got slightly inebriated. However, in doing so, I came to the realization that drunk in France is not the same as drunk in the US. It's a different feeling. More on that later. At the BBQ, I experience a bit of culture shock. It's been two years since my last trip to France so some things are going to take some getting used to. Anyway, it felt like the people I was with were eternally stuck in a high school mentality, for lack of a better description. More on that later. I slept a few short hours; not nearly enough to fully recover. Now I'm in the train to my next adventure, in Tours. A bit tired, but excited nonetheless.

Day One - Getting There

(Written June 18 - No internet access)

After no sleep, my brother gets me to the airport at 6:30 am, two hours before my scheduled departure time. Ticketing and the security check were relatively quick and painless. I get to my terminal and find that my plane has been delayed almost an hour to about 9:30. Within the next hour and a half, the flight gets delayed another four times, pushing my flight back to 1:31 pm. I decide to call my brother in hopes that he's awake, up, and willing to go grab a bite. Check. Check. Check. He comes to pick me up and we go to a place where dreams are made, to experience the great American breakfast: Denny's. Our fine dining expectations were gracefully met by none other than Grace, a curly mullet-sporting, over baked, underpaid gem from the greater Midwest (of the Salt Lake valley). Breakfast was short and sweet but it was nice to get out of the airport for a bit.

I made it back to my flight and slept the entire way to the twin cities' airport in Minnesota. After a small, overcomplicated journey from one terminal to the other, I find myself at Fletcher's Wharf having a Sam Adams, writing the first page to a hopefully complete story that will eventually just be remembered as summer 2009.

I'm being called for boarding. Next stop: Reykjavik, Iceland.

Euro Trip

I would like to inform all those interested that I am and will be in France until September 14th. Thus, all posts between now and then will be influenced or motivated in some way by my experiences here. Although I have yet to make any plans outside of France this trip, I named this post "Euro Trip" with hopes that in continually seeing it as I post throughout the summer, I will be encouraged to travel outside of the borders.