London Trip!

So finally here are some pictures from our trip in London. It was nice, but as usual, the weather was so so. I know London is known for rainy and cold weather....and that is what we got. haha

The first day we went to the London Tower. Even though it is called a "tower" it is not just a tower. It is a castle with an inner and outer wall, a dungeon, etc.

The London Tower

Inside the walls

This was a residential area inside the London Tower.

A view of the tower bridge from the tower's walls.

Germain in the gift shop.

Germain's a new guard!

The London Tower

 

Buckingham Palace

The changing of the guards

This is Westminster Abby. However, we didn't go inside bc it was so expensive to visit the church. Its a church and they are usually free to go in. They were charging about $30 per person!

Westminster Abby

We also visited the wax museum. It's the museum where they replicate celebrities out of wax. It was pretty neat, but wayyy too crowded.

Germain with James Bond

The President!!

Here is Saint Paul....which we also didn't go in because they were charging way too much.

Saint Paul

A night view of the Big Ben and the Parliament

 On our last day we just walked around the city.

A lake in a Hyde Park. So many birds!

*ringring*

That's all!

So yesterday was Germain's birthday. He had class until late so I just made him food at home. But on Saturday I took him out for dinner. He picked the place (since I don't know the restaurants very well here) but it was a first for him too. It was pretty good. My pictures, however, did not come out very good. It was a dark restaurant.

Our appetizer: buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes

Germain's cow cheek stew over mashed potatoes

My foie gras ravioli with truffle cream sauce

Dessert: a house Napoleon...very good.

On Sunday night his parents were in town and we went to a restaurant known for it's meat. It was good too. Then we walked around the city. It was chilly, but we passed by the Louvre and the night view was very nice.

That's all. Last week of school. Finals coming up. eep! Gotta study!

Happy New Year!

well back in Paris and it's surprising not that cold. Lucky for me, I guess. I think it's about the same in Miami as in Paris....so Paris is warm and Miami is cold.

For New Year's Eve we went to Nicolas' apartment to celebrate. He had other friends over as well. The theme of the night was Wild Rainbow....so we dressed as the 60's/70's. Just for fun.

Here's the arc de triomphe at night. Isn't it pretty?

Christmas everywhere!!

More Christmas decorations around the city! Enjoy!

The outside of Galerie Lafayette

The other side of Galerie Layfayette

Look it's Santa Clause!!

The Wheel and the Obelisk

Another angle

The Eiffel tower!! ok...not the real one...just a small version on the Champs-Elysee.

Christmas is near

So it's almost Christmas and the decorations are up in Paris. Supposedly it's not as nice as they were last year, but Christmas decorations are still pretty.

on the both sides of the streets of the Champs-Elyees

At the corner of the intersection on the Champs-Elysee

Fontainebleau Chateau

We went to yet another palace today. This palace dates back to the 12th century. Throughout history, many kings and emperors would visit and stay at this palace. They would all add parts to the building both inside and out. They palace extended quite a bit. It had impressive architecture, beautiful gardens and of course, extremely valuable artifacts like furniture and artwork.

Here are a couple pictures from our visit! ^_^

the chateau from the lake view

You can tell how different the architecture looks. That's because it was built during different time periods!

The Chapel from the second floor

Pretty ceilings

an impressive library

And then we exercised! haha. Around the village is a huge forest. The kings and emperors use to hunt in the forest. Now it has many trails for people to walk. So we hiked up the hills of the forest for a little bit. Luckily it was cool today!

Oh! and here's another beautiful view at night of the Eiffel Tower. Looks like a postcard huh?

Eiffel Tower from the bridge

Another Week

So another week in Paris. But not too much going on.

I went to Opii this week.......as a foreigner in France with a visa I had to go to get an x ray of my lungs and see the doctor to make sure I'm not carrying any diseases and stuff. Germain was able to get the morning off for that......thank goodness because I would have been so lost! The doctor spoke English, but the people in front didn't.

Needless to say......French class......still struggling. Its just so different. After 25+ years of pronouncing words a certain way......it's not easy to just stop sounding them out the way you're use to!

Last night we went out for dinner. We had a groupon for a Japanese sushi dinner for cheap! It was good. not the BEST sushi I've ever had, but 22 euros for two people......soup and salad included......was pretty good. And yes......eating rice was very good.

(Don't worry mom and dad......we just bought a rice cooker! ^_^)

It was a nice day out so was walked around. We passed by the Paris Beaches......Yes beaches. In the middle of the country......Paris has Beaches......Wanna see??

The Paris Beach next to the Seine River

Lol......these are the beaches of Paris. They created this little elevated sandy area...they even imported palm trees to make it seem more beachy. Very funny......Maybe because I grew up in Miami =P

The sun was setting over the river......very pretty.......

Paris sunset

Then we made our way over to St Michel. I like that area. It's very touristy, but there's lots of little shops and restaurants. Several of them were roasting pigs!

Roast pork!

We had gelato for dessert. It was very good. But I guess it should be expected...France is next to Italy. I had chocolate nutella and strawberry gelato. Germain took vanilla and the seasonal special......cantaloupe.

yummy!

There are many neat shops in St. Michel. We passed by this HUGE used books store. HUGE. there were books for 20 cents! And most interesting of all......they had a HUGE section of mangas!! Too bad they're all in French......=P But just the day before......Germain bought me a manga from the bookstore for full price. He hopes it will help me learn French since I like mangas =P

Another cute store....

Bento boxes

They're all bento boxes! Even the legos one. Cute.

On our walk home we passed by a park. It actually seems very nice at night. Its all dark, but they installed lighting to light up sculptures and fountains.

This weekend is a long weekend! So three days to explore. No classes, no internship. Hopefully I'll have more pictures for you! ^_^

~Pui

Two weeks in

So it's been a busy busy two weeks. We got a lot done in Paris as far as paper work goes. Went the the American Embassy and going again today.

a walk in the park

Then left for the South of France mid week last week. Took a high speed train for the first time! First we went to Saint Etienne. Unfortunately for less joyful reasons of a funeral. Then we left for Cannes. In Cannes we went to the city hall to book our city hall ceremony appointment. Then we met up with the priest who will be conducting the religious ceremony. We opened a bank account for me and another one for us.

We also went to Aix en Provence to meet up with some friends of Germain's from Prepa. It was nice to meet all of them again. I think I've only met them once before for a dinner. The area was a little village. Classic French country side. Very cute.

Recognize this mountain??

Playing petanque

We also had our test lunch! We tasted all the options for the dinner. It was wonderful. Yummy yummy food. Beautiful location. Very nervous, but very excited. Not going to post pictures of that because it's a surprise!!!

We also found our photographer. He speaks perfect English! That's so good for me since I am more specific about the pictures. I can communicate with him!

We ate lots of yummy food and went to great little street markets in the South too! You know the French and food!

Yummy lamb dish

On our way back from the South we passed by some beautiful scenery on the train. It really is a beautiful place.

Last night we has a lovely picnic by the Eiffel tower with some of Germain's friends. Beautiful view. I don't think I believe it still sometimes. The Eiffel tower is something us Americans see on TV and maybe once or twice in our lives. Strange. Still hasn't hit me quite yet.

gorgeous view of the tower

the tower shining at night.

We left Cannes late Friday night for Paris. Germain started his internship today and I will start my French classes tomorrow. EEP! Wish me luck!