roma abode

buongiorno! currently, i am writing in my dining room where an accordion player is joyfully playing tunes in the ally below my apartment, its quite picturesque. unfortunately isn't not always that glamorous because the last two days i woke to the sound of an obnoxious jackhammer because there is construction down the road. overall i'm happy with my roommates and the apartment. we have lots of space, but its a little dirty and shabby (but not shabby chic).the kitchen is relatively well equipped but i might change my opinion after i cook in it tonight. i finally found a marvelous market in campo di fiori with a plethora of vegetable and fruits. i'm planning to cook bruschetta with some of my roommates.enjoy the photos of my apartment-the photos are a bit hard to explain in terms of layout, but they give you an idea of my abode.

skype

recently i have been greatly disappointed with gmail. once upon a time, i believed that google would eventually rule the world but i know now that they are still working on taking over italy. google and gmail have been the only world wide web sites that have been shifty in rome. silly things like facebook and twitter work, but now i'm waiting on gmail to work. furthermore, gmail chat isn't  working either. i downloaded skype for free and it can be used for voice/video chat. once you download the program (for free) add me as a contact-my username is bluhrs, or you can just look up my name. most people have had success with using skype and now that gmail is failing i will pretty much constantly be signed into skype. if anyone has questions let me know. we shall see how this works- i put a link to the website to download the program below.love you all.

http://www.skype.com/download/skype/windows/

paris en général

paris in general:
on saturday we slept in a bit and then visited the champs de elysee, an area where there are many famous stores with security guards when you enter. we also went to see the arc de triomphe and the eiffel tower.
on sunday we went to see the notre dame cathedral. we paid a few extra euro to take and insane number of stairs to the top of the cathedral, it was worth the money. we also got to experience an organ recital while we were at notre dame. on sundays they offer a free service to the public to hear the organ play. we perused the church and took photos while we listened to Bach play on the organ, it was delightful. we went to the eiffel tower again on sunday to actually go up the eiffel tower. the line was long, but it was the wait. we could see each and every single light in the entire city. the glorious experience was made especially wonderful because we ended the evening with crepes. one night i got banana nutella crepes, needless to say they were delectable. anyway...paris was wonderful. there is lots more to talk about and explain, but i'll save some stories for when i return to the states.love you all.
p.s. i made it to rome safely.

VICTORY.

those who know me best will know what this means.

pierre herme...PARIS

bonjour a paris!

overall:
my days in paris have been lovely. the true enjoyment of the city began after 12 needed hours of sleep after getting over jet lag. we arrived in paris thursday morning (1:00am iowa time, 7:00am paris time). we were so extremely excited to be in paris so the last thing we wanted to do was sleep. thus, we had a delightful lunch at a local cafe- i enjoyed an open-faced italian sandwich and salad which is pictured above. the weather has been absolutely perfect- 75 degrees and sunny.
after a delightful lunch we walked miles through paris and saw notre dame, the eiffel tower and other fabulous sights.we also took a boat tour on the seine river in which gina, kyle, and myself did some major "head-bobbing" due to lack of sleep. later we devoured dinner and passed out at our hotel around 8:45pm (paris time, which was 1:45p iowa time). yikes. needless to say, we got a great night's sleep and had a lovely day in paris on friday.

friday:
today i woke up refreshed and still amazed with the concept of being in paris.
we had a simple breakfast at our hotel which included french croissants and great coffee. after we got ready for the day, and decided to visit pierre herme... the BEST pastry and macaroon boutique in france. wow. the visit was a promise to my sister... abby these macaroons were AMAZING. they were fresh, the store was gorgeous, it smelled great, the presentation was perfect- everything.our visit from pierre herme was, by far, the HIGHLIGHT of my trip to paris.




after our delectable experience at pierre herme we shopped around a bit. THEN...dun-dun-dun... we went to the LOUVRE! the museum is free on friday nights for anyone under the age of 26, so we got to see all the collections for free. our train ride to there was a bit intense, especially since the concierge at the station laughed at us trying to speak bits of french to him. anyway, we figured it out and got to the louvre.
the museum was fascinating and it was wonderful to see pieces of artwork that i studied in art history from the ancient egyptians to the romans. we took cheesy pictures outside the louvre (like any u.s. citizen would), right? i posted a few on my flickr page if anyone is interested.



tomorrow we plan to tackle going up into the eiffel tower and visiting the arc de triumph. i will post more when i have time.
p.s. someone should comment, or something because i need to know that someone is reading this blog babble. thanks. i miss everyone already.

fly away...france

well. the time has finally come. i've said adieu to iowa and i am flying out of minneapolis wednesday- august 26, 2009.

over the last several months the anticipation for my trip has included a variety of exciting things the following are just a few examples:
hours of packing, deliberating, planning, sorting, luggage weighing, pouting, stressing, agonizing over, fascinating on, dwelling upon, missing, dreaming, debating, wishing, loving, and waiting. despite all those activities it did not quite "hit me" that i was leaving for four months until now. although my farewells to friends and family were no picnic, i feel as though i am well prepared for my trip. i will be traveling the next few days and should arrive in paris around 1:00am iowa time. the picture above is an image of hotel coypel which is where we will be staying in france.


cheers.

going away party

notice: the sign in the upper left that says: "don't screw the pooch" in italian. because i'm sure i'll need to know that when i get to rome.
espresso made by layla
the suprise!

the days are winding down. i need to start packing seriously and get my poop in the scoop to go to rome. even though i'm stressed about those things, my friends have made me feel loved and as though they might even miss me while i'm gone!
in the midst of trying to move out of my apartment in ames- kristin, layla, and jeremiah thoughtfully prepared a "going away party" for me. it was a complete suprise too... even though i actually invited some people to my own suprise party. it was great. i've included some pictures from the event.