Versailles: The huge palace that deserves it's own entry.

The Palace of Versailles is absolutely humongous. I cannot believe that someone actually lived there, that someone actually spent the time to have it built. Louis XIV is the one who made this palace so grand, so important, so regal.

There is no way to describe this place. No way to even go through all the rooms, all the paintings, all the amazing architecture, and all the gold. So, since I can't try to explain it, or try even to potentially describe it, I've decided to let the pictures do the talking. Enjoy. Versailles: I've never seen anything as royal as this.

Paris Encore, but with Mom this time :)

So, the next place on my list was Paris. I was really happy that Mom was able to stay in Paris with me because 1. Paris is an amazing city that definitely needs to be visited, and 2. I got to show off my French skills. It was a really fun time and I'm glad I got to share it with Moms.

On to the good stuff--We saw tons in Paris; everything we wanted to see. The good thing about this was, we never rushed. We just took our time. We got up when we wanted to, and if we didn't get to do every little thing we wanted to do in one day, we just saved it for the next day. I liked that. Usually when I visit a city it's only for a short time, so I spend my time trying to see everything. Since we had four days in Paris we were able to take it slow, and that was nice.

The first thing we decided to see was the Eiffel Tower. We were in Paris weren't we? And hello, it is LA TOUR EIFFEL, the symbol of Paris. I always laugh to myself thinking about how the French used to hate the Eiffel Tower and actually wanted to take it down. Can you even imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower? I can't. Just think of how much revenue they make off of it...damn. A lot.

We then went to go see the L'Arc de Triomphe--I, of course, wanted to show my mother where I almost got arrested, so we had to go. Sadly, a lot of renovations were going on

... but it was still nice to see it. Just a recap, the L'Arc de Triomphe is where the tomb of the unknown soldier is, so it is very important to the French people. To the right is a picture of the eternal flame, and it says, "here rests a French soldier who died for the fatherland." Always a nice place to visit.

We then moved onto Notre Dame. Of course, we got lost somehow and ended up right by the church but not actually there. Okay, we asked for directions and this man pointed in a direction and well, we thought we were going in the right direction. Our thoughts proved wrong because Notre Dame was nowhere to be found (though we did see other nice things along the way). We then headed back the way we came and asked some police for directions. They too pointed in the same direction in which we went. This can't be it, I thought, they have to be lying or we're idiots. I then asked one last set of police man, just to be positive, and also made sure that I was asking for l'eglise de Notre Dame...FINALLY we got real directions and FINALLY we made it to Notre Dame.

Notre Dame is beautiful. It's so detailed and ornate. It honestly is one of my favorite things in Paris. It's really incredible. Also at Notre Dame is point zero, which is where all the measurements in France are taken. Legend says that if you touch the spot, then you will come back to Paris. So...of course, I touched it! Mom even left some coinage for extra luck :)

Here's a pic inside the lovely lovely Notre Dame:

The next day we decided to head to La Louvre. The Louvre is HUGE and I don't know how you could ever see it all. Mom and I aren't huge museum lovers, but we did spend time seeing the things we wanted to see. Of course, like all big museums, it's quite easy to get lost, so we sometimes ended up in section we w

eren't planning on going to, and even had to ask for directions. Oh well, it happens. We saw the Mona Lisa, obviously we had to since it was right there, and well, it really isn't that special. It's so tiny, and there was such a large crowd that you had to fight your way to the front. Not only that, but its incased in glass, and has a rope around it so you really can't get close. So we saw it, and we said...eh..okay, what's next? Well we saw all the ancient greek and roman art, then moved on through the egyptian, ended up in the mesopotamian section maybe? Who knows. Definitely very interesting though. I wonder how they get all that stuff in there.... some of the pieces are massive!

We then met up with my friend Katie and went on a boat cruise on the Seine. It was a beautiful day and th

is was SO relaxing. You just sit, and watch Paris go by. It's really awesome because you literally see everything and from a view that you wouldn't normally see it from if you were just walking around. I really enjoyed it, and honestly enjoyed the break from walking around...

Apres ça, we took the long metro ride up to Montmarte. I love this section of Paris--the Sacre Coeur, the great views of Paris, the artist sitting out doing their thing; it's just really beautiful, and unlike any other part of Paris. That's the thing I like about Paris: there are so many different sections that you can honestly find anything you are looking for. Nothing is like it. We walked around for a bit and decided to head home...

Of course, a trip to Paris wouldn't be complete without seeing the Eiffel Tower at night! So, here's some fabulous pics from the magnifique Tour Eiffel. Sadly, we couldn't go all the way up to the top because it was closed, but we did go up half way (the highest we could at that time). It was so beautiful seeing all of Paris lit up at night. Lucky us, while we were in the Tower, it started it's light show. Every hour on the hour for five minutes, the Eiffel Tower lights up the entire night sky. Forewarning, this "light show" is not for epileptics, and would be completely dangerous for them. So, if you are epileptic and planning to go on the Eiffel Tower, make sure it's not within those five minutes...

PARIS Je t'aime

Beauty right? Next up: Versailles--The Palace that deserves it's own blog!

The Magnifique Island of Mykonos

I've always wanted to visit Greece, and just never could have imagined that I would actually make it there. Okay, well maybe I could think of getting to Athens, but actually having the opportunity to go to a Greek island was ridiculous. I, Siobhan O'Sullivan, went to the Greek island of Mykonos. When am I ever going to have the opportunity to do that again? Not in a very long time.

Mykonos was absolutely beautiful. There are really just no words to describe the picturesque city. When I think of Greece, I think of blue and white, and that's exactly what I found in Mykonos. Small, cute, white buildings with blue shutters, or blue roofs. It was just...like nothing else. I found that the while buildings actually look like they are covered in fondant, you know that stuff that cake decorators use on cakes? Yeah that. It was really funny actually. My mom and I couldn't get over the fact that it just looked like the Greeks took a huge piece of fondant and covered things...making sure to smooth around the edges.

Oh, before I forget, I should mention how I arrived to the island. Well, we took a boat, Mom and I. Now, I thought this would be great. I love boats. I love water. Yay! No, not yay. The boat was so incredibly rocky, it was a bit ridiculous. It was a really windy day and it was honestly like we were in a wave pool. At one point, the boat literally tipped over. You know that part in the titanic where you hear//see all the porcelain fall and break? Well, I thought that was going to happen. I heard glasses moving, I saw things rolling, and I thought we were taking a swim in the water. Luckily, it happened towards to end of our journey and we arrived soon after. It was very frightening though.

So this is Mykonos. Enjoy the trip :)

Fondant right?

The water was just so blue and beautiful against the white

White and Blue. I wasn't kidding.

Windmills!

Beauty.

Sunset @ Sunset Cafe, pretty flower, and a friendly pelican.

Cobblestone streets and lovely colors

We went for a little hike up the mountain...or hill. This is what we found

Pretty right?

Love the windmills

bye bye bye...

Greece: Ancient Athens

So to make this more interesting, I’m going to do that thing where I put up lots of beautiful pictures and then explain stuff from there. It makes reading this blog a lot more fun and hey, it makes it a lot easier for me to write stuff ☺

Olympic Stadium—obviously where the Olympic games were held back in the day. But not THAT old. Still cool to see though.

Ancient ruins from the old Greek city. Found when excavating to build the new Parthenon museum. It was so interesting to see them and think what this place had been used for. Then you get to thinking about how this all is underground and well, how the hell did that happen? Anyway, when you walk through the museum of the first level, the floor is clear so you are able to see the ruins underneath. It’s pretty sweet.

Ancient meets Modern—I just thought this was really cool because you see all these buildings from today, and then the ancient Parthenon in the background. It’s crazy how these ruins just pop up everywhere.

Ruins of a Grecian theatre. I loved this, and the awesome view of the city in the background.

The Erechtheum: Ancient Greek temple on the north side of the Acropolis

Mom and I and the Parthenon! What a great pic :)

Oh, ya know, just all of Athens. Absolutely beautiful.

There were literally little pieces of history everywhere. It was unreal.

And of course, the Parthenon.

Athens was beautiful. At least the parts with all the history. I loved the Planka district, or at least that's how I think you spell it. It has some great shops and restaurants. Greek jewelry is also really awesome because everything has a meaning. Things I learned: the owl stands for wisdom; greek key symbol for eternity; serpent for medicine; spiral represents the circle of life. I felt like I went on a little trip back in time...next up: the Greek island of Mykonos.

Introduction to Spring Break--Mom Comes to Town...

So, mom came to visit! It was so unreal that she was actually here in Europe. I wish the rest of the family could have been here, but mom time was great. Absolutely wonderful, and relaxing.

I met Mom at the Montpellier airport—this is after I got off at the wrong bus stop and had to run to the airport. Good thing it wasn’t that far away. The first meeting was perfect. She was just right there in person, rather than on a computer screen or a bbm. She was there, really there in person. I couldn’t believe it. After the reuinion, we headed into Montpelier and I took her to my house. I gave her the tour of what I knew of the house and then we packed my bags. We wanted to get everything done and leave before Odile came back, so she wouldn’t feel weird welcoming my mom into the house when we had already been there. Mom brought me some amazing American snacks, which made me so happy. Goldfish, cheese its, Pringles, and NUTTER BUTTERS. I missed peanut butter so much so I’m so glad she was able to bring something peanut buttery and delicious. Anyway, we explored Montpellier for a bit, had some lunch, and then headed back to the house. Odile was home then, so I became translator over coffee. It was a lot of fun and interesting to see two people who didn’t speak the same language interact. Odile called us a cab, and Mom rested until the time came to leave. Then we were off on our adventure.

Of course, there had been a strike from Tuesday-Thursday, so Friday was hell. Our train to Paris was PACKED. Packed to the extent that one of our four suitcases was on out table. The others were on top of each other in a corner. People were everyone; standing, sitting on laps, leaning…it was horrible. We finally made it to Paris, after a delay of an HOUR. We thought the trouble would stop there but no. We took the metro thinking it wouldn’t be that bad of an idea, and would afford an expensive taxi cost…well we thought completely wrong. The first metro we finally got on after figuring out our way closed its doors on us. When I mean on us, I mean…we were between the two doors, and our arms were caught. It was not only horrifying but painful. People had to help Mom out of the doors. Crazy. Honestly very dangerous! Finally, after about what seemed two hours of traveling by metro and walking etc, we got to our hotel. Ordered shitty room service because the kitchen was closed, and went to bed. Had to be up early for another flight to Athens. I was pretty excited. I had always wanted to go to Greece, and going with my favorite person only makes it that much more exciting.

Token American As Usual

Another token American moment happened the other day. Of course. They always happen to me. There are things that happen everyday that I just forget to write about, but believe me...at least once a week I say to myself, "there's the token american...". Anyway, I was on the tram with Laur coming back from class. Now, the tram is in itself an interesting contraption. If you stand in the right spots you’re fine. If you stand in between to trains, you’ll definitely have some difficulty standing due to the fact that the floor moves and there is nothing to hang on to. If there are a lot of people on the tram, you are in trouble again if you happen to be in a spot where you are only surrounded by people and nothing to really keep you from falling except for other bodies. That is the state I was in the other day. I was just chatting to Laur on the tram when a shit ton of gens (people) decided to climb aboard. No big deal I thought. No, big deal. I of course was pushed into a place where there were only bodies surrounding me, and of course those bodies were young men my age. I thought I’d just hang on to Laur and everything would just be dandy. But what happened? Well a sharp turn came and there I went. The sad thing was, Laur and I both saw it happening. We tried to stop me from falling, but there was just no way. So instead of stopping myself, I made it blatenly obvious to everyone around me that I was falling. What did they do, nothing. Instead, I just fell on these not so attractive men, saying “oh dieu, desolle, c’est pas ma faut” or in a language to be understood, “oh god, sorry, it’s not my fault”. Being Frenchies, they didn’t care and just let me fall, and I had to pull my leaning body up all by myself. Gosh. That would happen to me though. I would be the one to fall on the tram and have everyone watch but not do anything. Here’s to the token American. Again.

Beautiful Barcelona

A few weekends ago I went to Barcelona with my two friends Jacqui and Megan. I pretty much lucked out because they have friends studying there so we got free housing (which is always good) and with my eurorail pass, the tickets to Barcelona were only 6.50 Euro so I was a happy camper. I had heard so many great things about Barcelona so I was excited to finally be able to go. It’s so crazy thinking about how in the beginning I kept saying, “Oh I have plenty of weekends to travel” and now I’m saying, “Shit, I’ve only got a little bit of time left!” So yes, I was happy to make my way into Spanish territory.

Barcelona isn’t a long ride from Montpellier at all—around 4.5 hours, which is pretty sweet. It’d be shorter if they didn’t have to change tracks for the trains and check passports at the border. My host mom was telling me something about the railways being different in Spain than in France, so in order for the train to be able to get from one country to the other, they have to change the tracks, which takes time. Luckily, they add all the time it takes onto your ticket so you’re not thinking its 4.5 hours and it ends up being 5.5 due to the changes//checks. Smart people there.

Now for the pictures!

Street performers lined Las Ramblas. The costumes they had were amazing, and most of them stood perfectly still until you put money in their cup which meant they could move and take a picture with you. I loved seeing all of them, and I just could not imagine how the hell they got ready in the morning, or stood still for so long. What about the bathroom??

Gaudi architecture. He was from Barcelona and this is one of the only places you can find his different style of architecture. This is from the park that he designed. To me, it looks very much like a gingerbread house or a house that Hensel and Gretel would know a lot about.

More park. So different and beautiful

An amazing street band that literally made anyone who listened smile and want to dance. I love seeing people on the street just doing what they love, regardless of whether or not they actually get money. But, if you're curious, I did indeed give them coinage.

La Sagrada Famillia: Gaudi’s unfinished cathedral. I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s enormous, and still under construction. They are hoping to finish it in a few years. It reminds me of a drippy sandcastle, with so much detail.

Beautiful Barca

And of course, la playa. It was such a beautiful day that we actually got to sit out on the beach and “profitez du soliel” or profit from the sun. I got a bit sunburned, of course, but it was well worth it. So relaxing.