October round up

Hey hey hey!

If you haven't been slacking off, you haven't been reading thecolourscape either. Good for you! That probably means you've gotten lots of work done, been traveling a lot... or don't have internet. In the case of the latter, I'm sorry for your loss.

Today, I've collected for you the best posts of September/October 2012 so you can catch up on my life (yes, we're being a little self-centered today, but no one is forcing you to read about me talking about, well, me). Think of this as the Letter to the Editor page of your favourite bi-monthly magazine... but without the letters and opinions from other people... okay, so it's more like Editor's Picks.

Whether you're wondering why I'm in France or what I'm studying, all your answers can be found here. Speaking of France, I've been to some pretty cool places in the past two months, including Monaco; Barcelona; La Ciotat; Loumarin and Rousillon; Brussels; and Prague.

Of course, studying abroad has had its ups and downs. I missed out on my sorority's recruitment and on my college hosting the first presidential debate. But this town is beautiful - I even have a favourite coffee place that isn't Starbucks - and I'm so lucky to be here.

To summarize: this is the official, number one, best place to get all Stephanie news all the time. Because you know you miss her (even if you won't Skype with her).

xxo, S

"Oh, Prague is magical!"

I’m back where I’ve always been – writing at a café. But this time it’s different because I’m in Prague!

Officially my third day (of my six-day trip) and, as if it wasn’t already love at first sight, I am obsessed with this place.

I landed on Sunday and made my way to the city by 2pm, where I wandered around for a while. Stu was making her own way back to Prague from a weekend trip to Berlin, so, with six hours to kill, me and my pack just… started going.

I had no idea what I was going to see. The night before, I loaded up my iPod with some photos of maps from the internet, a list of sights from Stu, a few Czech phrases, and some new music of course. And that was it – my only “survival kit” for the day! It amazed me how much I accomplished with such little preparation.

Off the plane, I exchanged my Euros for Czech Krownes (which is a confusing, albeit inexpensive, currency); purchased a three-day transit pass; and hopped on the 119 bus into town. Only 25 minutes from the airport! From the bus I took the metro to a stop that I chose randomly because it had the word “star” in it. It ended up being the stop (but I didn’t know it yet). Out of the metro, I followed the stream of people, down the street, around a corner and – woah! – I was met with a crowd all taking pictures of ornate old buildings and a river. It was a gorgeous sight against a beautiful fall afternoon in Prague. Deciding that this seemed like a good place to start (and still having no idea what I was looking at), I snapped some shots and walked on.

I crossed the bridge, still in shock at the beauty of my location. I couldn’t believe that I had woken up in Aix-en-Provence that very morning (where it had been snowing – ah!) and was now in Prague, a city that looks completely different. Perhaps not culture shock; more like culture-wowed.

On the other side, I wandered around some more, walking alongside the river, before going back over the bridge and into more new territory.

Following the crowds again, I passed crammed souvenir shops, countless exchange counters, and restaurant chalkboards declaring “Traditional Czech Food” – all signs in English and Czech. The tiny street opened up onto a huge, open area with more impressive buildings and towers, flanked by cafés and tours groups.

As I kept walking, I left the busier areas and hoped I wasn’t getting lost. But the streets brought me back around to the crowds at the Palladium (a huge shopping center), which was on Stu’s list of places I could visit. Resisting the urge to shop, I walked on, passing more stores on the street (like Zara and Mango), until I got to a different bridge. The sun was starting its descent, so I decided to do only a little bit more walking before settling in a café.

I took a quick stroll along the river, through a little park on a random island, and then across the small bridge. I walked in the direction that indicated “Starbucks!” on Stu’s list/map; I had been by here earlier in the day, but it was much quieter now.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to try and use my non-existent Czech skills at Starbucks – the whole menu was in English :) I got a Venti Soy Latte (they only automatically put in two shots here, though), found a corner, set my pack down for the first time in hours, and enjoyed my first Starbucks in three months.

I chilled here for a few hours until Stu was back. At one point, I had my laptop out and a girl nearby exclaimed, “Are you from Colorado?! I recognize that Illegal Pete’s sticker!” Turns out, she went to CU Boulder (although is originally from Brooklyn – small world) and is now at grad school in London, just visiting Prague for the weekend. Yup, us Americans can always find each other, working on our laptops, in Starbucks ;)

Once I met up with Stu and went to her apartment, I was introduced to her housemates (who are really cool and really nice, and they go to CU – woo Colorado!). Then, we went out for Thai food at this nice place called Noi, but so inexpensive; came home; and vegged out since we had all been travelling all day.

moon near starbucks

And that’s just Day One in this magical city. Just wait ‘til I learned what all the stuff I’d seen was called… and got to see even more stuff!

xxo, S

Geography lesson (three)

Where in the world is: Stephanie spending fall  break?
Good question.

Answer, class? PRAGUE!!!!!!!!!!!

Ohhhh yes, this is one very excited fille (girl) over here. If you were with me right now, you'd see me doing a little song and hop-dance all around my room, "I'm going to Praaaaaaague, I'm going to PRAAAGUE!!!"

This will officially be the farthest East I've ever been in the world (Iceland being the farthest North, Mexico being the farthest South, and California being the farthest West). And I'm all about the neeeew stuff (C + T, did you get that reference??). Everything I've heard from Stu about Prague, the Czech Republic, and former-Soviet nations in general has wowed me.

It is going to be wonderful having a best friend and personal tour guide ;) I imagine it would be pretty challenging to get around without any knowledge of the city. I love visiting my friends where they live/study because I get to see places that they've really enjoyed, and it's so special that they can share it with moi - just like when Stu came to visit!

I arrive in Praha today at noon and have all week (until Friday) to explore! What a great way to spend my first (and only) fall break ever - yay! :)

xxo, S

Bond. James Bond.

Short post today -

There are three movie theatres in Aix, Le Cézanne, Renoir, and Le Mazarin. Cézanne shows all the new, mainstream releases; Mazarin has more "artsy" films, and Renoir shows both these types, but all in their original language!

Today, one of my first "days off" in a while (a.k.a. no classes, no internship, no travel), I went to see the new James Bond film Skyfall with a friend. We were both eagerly awaiting the movie and were excited to see it together - especially since it doesn't come out in the U.S. until 9 November!!

Firstly, movie theatres in France are slightly different from in America (surprise). For a regular ticket, it's about €9... but if you are a student it is only €7.90, which is by far the least expensive movie I've gone to see in a long time! So we get our tickets, head inside, and are thinking we'll get some popcorn. Having lived here for almost two months now, I was not naïvely expecting the same kind of concession stands we have in the U.S. So I wasn't surprised when the aroma of nachos, hot dogs, and fake butter didn't ooze out of the lobby; there was no fountain drink machine either (just bottled sodas); and popcorn comes in little, presorted plastic buckets. You can choose either sucre (sweet) or salé (salted). I don't even remember the last time I had popcorn! We got the salty kind - duhhh - and went into the movie theatre.

We sat in the third row from the front, totally prepared to enjoy the film close up.
The movie screen wasn't flashing ads at us ever five seconds; instead, there was a curtain hung in front of the screen that had ads printed on it. About fifteen minutes before the movie started, the curtain pulled aside, and the previews began (just like in America).

While I enjoyed Skyfall as a film, my friend and I both agreed that it wasn't strikingly Bond enough for us. She also mentioned that the French subtitles below distracted her, but that wasn't as much an issue for me as the fact that there was no villainous plot! Ok, I'm going to let you all go see the movie for yourself and decide what you think, but I'm telling you: the villain was not devious enough for me (sorry, Javier Bardem... but you were definitely creepy! I will give you that! Loved the creepiness!).

Also, if you haven't heard it yet, Adele sings the song for this film, and I really like it, so here it is in case you want to hear it too (read: here it is therefore you ought to listen to it).

Off to Praha tomorrow - see you on Friday, Aix!
xxo, S

I voted!

Quick note to say: I voted yesterday! Printed off my absentee ballot and it is headed to the U.S. Consulate/ Embassy in Marseille tomorrow - wheeeeee!

I'm registered to vote in Colorado (uhh, should I be saying this on the internet? oh well, whatever, it's public record anyway) because it's more of a swing state than New York (hello blue!), so my ballot should be in Denver by next week.

EVERYONE MUST VOTE! I AM IN ANOTHER COUNTRY AND I DID IT, YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE.
(unless you're like my Uncle T: "I don't vote and I don't complain." well, that's one way of looking at it)

Happy election season :)
xxo, S

Petit déjeuner

Mmmmmm... French food. There's nothing like it, right? Especially for breakfast.

Though, I may not be having any "official" or traditional French p'tit déj (brekky), it is still yummy. And different from what I have at home!

On a normal morning, I have some variant of toast, coffee, and fruit, the variant usually being fruit and whatever I put on my toast. When I first arrived, there were lots of prunes (plums) and now we have a lot of pommes (apples). For toast fixins, you've got your average butter (well, not that average because it is French beurre after all), your fun Nutella, or you can switch it up and have crème de marrons.

crème de marrons is like hazelnut butter (rather than apple butter)

I've already complained about the coffee sucking in France. I've since found a total of one place that serves plain coffee strong enough for me, but at my homestay it's still rather weak. Usually I'll just have it cold instead, which actually makes it taste a little bit stronger. Weird.

And that's it! Nothing too too special. Now you know what I eat for breakfast on the daily. It's part of the true IAU student experience (which also includes, but is not limited to: nights at O'Shannons; dinner consisting of multiple Pizza Capri slices; hanging out in le cave and the cathedral courtyard; and drinking Desperados).

Except on Fridays when I got to my fave café and also get a tartlette aux rhubarbes from Paul bakery.

Yum :)

xxo, S

Brussels

Call me a Weekend Warrior because I just successfully did my first weekender trip! All by myself, toute seule!

At first I was nervous because I had booked on Ryanair, an airline equally infamous for its low fares as for its high fees if you don't follow the rules. But nothing went wrong, neither on my way there or back. I had just one bag for the whole weekend and actually napped on both flights, which is apparently unheard of since the seats aren't that comfortable and the crew walks up and down the aisles selling stuff the whole time. Door to door, it was about a six hour journey from Aix to Brussels. Not bad to get to a whole other country!

Liv's study abroad program has apartments (not homestays like I'm doing) which was quite refreshing. We cooked all our meals and got plenty of chill time, which I've really missed. Can anyone say couch in the informal at DZ?!

Brussels is a very interesting city. It's appearance is extremely typical of Northern Europe: ornate city buildings; tight row houses with tudor accents; lots of stone and brickwork. But it also has a lot of cultural confusion from the German, Dutch, and French influences on the country. The three official languages are French, German, and English, but Flemish is also prevalent. In fact, the Flemish part of Belgium is constantly threatening to secede (like Catalonia in Spain). So communication was not an issue for me, since basically everyone spoke French and English - if not more languages! The culture cannot be described by just one thing, and I think that the rise of a global youth culture plus the amount of foreigners living in Brussels has made it even more difficult to pinpoint. Liv called it a very "independent" city - as in indie, as in hipster (she totally would say that, what an SF girl), which makes sense, since everyone seemed to bring their own vibe and contribute something. You could think of Brussels as the great potluck city! (And New York is the melting pot!)

typical brussels architecture 

 

 8-bit cthulu strikes again! what?!

 

tintin! quintessential belgium

When I arrived on Friday, we went right into tour mode:

The Palace...

Grand Place...

A market (not too different from the ones in Aix, but this one had a guy who could recreate any perfume just by smelling it!)...

famous belgian chocolates

Some of Liv's favourite bars...

The "pissing statue," who someone had dressed in a monk's robe for the day (perhaps to keep him warm?)...

And on the way to this park, I almost got hit by a trolly...

 

On the way home, we got frites from Maison Antoine...

"pitta" sauce that tasted just like ranch dressing

fries and ranch - me and doug's favourite late-night snack!

When I got to Liv's apartment, I was so glad to put my bag down! While it was small, I had been carrying it for twelve hours now, and it had gotten pretty heavy!

Her place is so cute :) This is the backyard, where she told me they ate almost all their meals when they first arrived and the weather was still warm.

going shopping... what are "pasta spices" supposed to be?

Then we went out to get food for dinner. Inspired by Liv's Belgium cookbook, we bought chicken breast and veggies at the supermarket and began what would be one of the funniest cooking experiences I've ever had. Turns out, all three meals we made during the weekend were hilarious, mostly because me and Liv both love to take charge in the kitchen, which always results in a tiff... and a delicious meal :)

 mixing up the carrots

 our prep station

just the right amount of chefs in the kitchen... usually

Having no idea what we were doing, I just threw some olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic in a bowl; tossed the chicken around; added it to a pan with carmelizing onions, butter, wine, and chicken stock; and it turned out to be über tasty! 

plated... and ready for gordon ramsey

We also made some very-parsley-y veggies. And we ate everything. I've missed cooking so much!

That night, we went out with a bunch of other DU kids who are studying abroad in Brussels. It was so great to see a crew of familiar faces and experience a new city.

The next day, we woke up, made a scrumptious breakfast, and had a leisurely time getting ready. It really wasn't so much what I was doing, so much as spending time with one of my best friends. And cooking is something we just love doing together, so I was happy! :)
This meal was inspired by the Spanish omelets I had in Barcelona... except they didn't turn out as well. It was less of a fritata and more of just a regular omelet... that got broken into lots of pieces... but still tasted really good!!!

the most farm-fresh eggs i've seen outside of vermont

making toast on the stove (hi dad!)

no coffe? two tea bags please!

nom nom nom

We went to another park and got a gauffre au chocolat (chocolate waffle) from a nearby stand. Liv said there are better waffles from specialty restaurants and stuff in the city, but I can't imagine how they got much better because this was the best waffle I've ever had! And I don't even like waffles that much!!! At the end, I had chocolate all over my face... mmmmmm :)

Hanging out in this park made me wish Aix had more big parks to hang out in - with benches. Most of the parks in Aix are great for picnics on the grass, but when it's rainy you just need a bench. Brussels knows what's up... probably because it rains more there :P Anyway, it was beautiful, even in the overcast weather.

We continued on to the city center where we made our way to the shopping street of Avenue Louise via the cityscape view of the Atomium and the Palais de Justice. The Atomium is the iconic site of the 1910 Brussels World Fair.

the atomium in the distance (that ball-and-line statue thing)

the palais de la justice or courthouse. the architect had a breakdown when it was first built, so there are doors that lead to nowhere and stuff - wacky!

avenue louise

hey, that's my name!

I know this trip to Europe shouldn't be spent shopping, but I really needed a new pair of pants after losing a battle with bleach on one of my faves. Liv and I stopped in this cool store called Pull & Bear that they do not have in the U.S. so I got new pants there that I LOVE! Originally I was thinking about buying a 100% replacement pair from Urban Outfitters, but hey, when in France! Or Belgium! I am now the proud owner of European pants :)

We chilled at a café for a long time before heading back to make dinner. A yummy meal of traditional Belgian moules frites (mussels and fries) was planned, and we had our own version in store.

back from the store, looking so french with my baguette and fresh produce

...and my pull&bear bag

Again, just going with the flow, we tossed a ton of butter, wine, milk, and water into a pot; added celery, carrots, onions, and mussels; and cooked along to some Taylor Swift music! At first we considered having some rice or something to go with the broth... but when you make moules frites, you've gotta have a baguette to sop that broth up with! Mmmmmm, perfection :) We also made some "frites" to go along - basically just sliced potatoes cooked lightly in a pan. Probably too much food for the two of us (um, a whole kilo of mussels, who were we kidding?!) but every bite was amazing!

oil and salt make everything better

our version of frites

moules! yay!

After dinner, we went with a few people to Taverneas (?), which is a chill bar with live music that Liv and her friends frequent. There, I tried cherry beer for the first time. At first I was pretty skeptical - what is fruit doing in my beer?! But it tasted like juice (dangerous!) and I would totally get it again sometime! We didn't stay long because I had to leave at 5AM to get to the airport for my flight, but I really loved just hanging out with people and watching some old people dance. Not the typical routine in Aix!

On my flight out, the air was suuuuuper foggy! All the airport lights seemed like they were just hovering in space and you couldn't see planes more than three rows away from you. But we left safe and sound, I was welcomed with a sunny 75°(25°C) day at the Marseille-Provence airport, and a clean, happy room at home :)

Such a short visit to Brussels! :( But that's why it's just a weekend trip. I loved all my time there and was so happy to see some great friends!

xxo, S