Spring Break

Ok! I’m finally here to talk about Spring Break! Of course you understand that it can’t be a completely comprehensive entry because I’m a little hazy on all the good times (they mix and mingle like people at a good party, you see) but I’ll try to give you the highlights! Just remember that between those highlights were... more highlights!
My flight to France was uneventful- all four of the gates at the Florence were abuzz, but I still managed to get to the airport and make it through check-in and security in about 20 minutes. That should be no surprise in an airport where there is a TICKETS desk across from the checkin so people can waltz in, buy a ticket, and then hop on board. Oh, Italy!
So... I arrive in France and my cute mom sneaks in to the arrival part of the airport and grabs me while I’m waiting for my bag! She and my dad had arrived about 20 minutes before so that ended up being PERFECT timing! We bussed in and arrived at our hotel- REALLY nice! We were literally two blocks from the Louvre- on the corner of the Jardin de Tuileries- so great! We got settled in that night, walked around, enjoyed some free champagne and eachother’s company- great.
We did all the sites- we saw the Louvre, the Musee D’Orsay, the Picasso Museum, the Eiffel Tower, the Arch de Triumph, we shopped on the Rive Gauche, and even ate at the Grand Colbert (which you may remember from the movie “Something’s Gotta Give”)!
The Louvre was really neato- probably my least fave room of the ones we saw was actually the one with the Mona Lisa (La Giocanda we call ‘er in Italia)- it was so crowded- people were all trying to get pictures of the portrait, but guess what? You can’t take pictures! Part of the protection of the picture is the special film/glass they have over the painting so that foos can’t ruin it with flashes of idiocy! So you’ve got all these tourist-types taking picture after picture, baffled at why their photos aren’t showing up! Aye! But it was an amusing scene- I don’t really care for that lady myself, so we “touched base” and then went to see other stuff, like Titian, Raphael, Napoleon’s chambers etc. I think if I lived in Paris I’d hang out at the Louvre fairly frequently- and though super pricey, the food in the cafeteria was certainly the best cafeteria food I’ve had to date!
The Musee D’Orsay (my apologies for omitting the accent but, see, I’m not smart enough for that sort of thing!) was REALLY neat- it is housed in the old train station, and they have done such COOL things with it! It houses Monet, Manet, Rodin, Klimt, etc etc... on and on. It was really cool- lots of open space, and really pleasant natural light, hooray!
The Eiffel tower was, well... HUGE! I know that is a silly thing to say, but really, it is a LOT bigger than I expected! Of course you can see it from any given place in the city, but still! When you get right up to it it’s REAL big! And as you are going up in the elevator, trying to pretend like this ascent won’t scare you to death, you realize that you can see out of all sides of the elevator, cause this thing’s made of metal and doesn’t have walls! And then you’re thinking “please God, let everyone back home know I love them, and I pray Ma and Da get a refund for my tuition” cause you know you’re gonna die. And right before you lose control of your bladder and knees, there you are, on the first level! I’m sure you can use your imagination for how well things went going up to the next level! and then NEXT level! AHH! Man, once we were up there though, totally worth it. I’d highly recommend it!
Sacre Coeur is a church on the top of a hill in Paris, and it is the second highest point next to the metal beasty. It was REALLY lovely, and the area around it, Mont Martre, was SO great! We didn’t spend a ton of time there cause we had things to do, places to see, but you know- we had a great time while we were there- imagine a little square filled with artists just painting, surrounded by sidewalk cafes and cobblestone! It was a pretty romantic little place, so next time you’re on a date in Paris, consider dinner by the big white glowing church on the hill!
SO... unfortunately leaving out several wonderful things (well, honestly, more than several) as we move on to Cannes, which is the home of the Cannes Film Festival, and my favorite restaurant on the PLANET names Ville de Lys. Absolutely lovely! The place is full of designer shops and a great beach, plus some good non bank-breaking shopping on the off-streets. We stayed in a great hotel, took a day trip to Monte Carlo, Monaco, and of course, as I mentioned, had the meal of our lives! Think the PERFECT meal, including service, presentation, fun, taste (brought me to tears twice... not joking)... and you’ll have a glimmer into the perfection!
We trained from Cannes to Florence (a long day, believe you me), and my parents got settled in their hotel. We had some GREAT dinners, which, who knew could actually happen in Florence (ok ok, I’ve had some great food here...). We did it up right- we had 4 or 5 courses every night! We shared some of them, and enjoyed some good house wines etc. We spent most our time shopping and eating- hard life!
They left on that Tuesday- it was SOOOO hard to see them go! I actually said goodbye the night before because their flight was at 6:30am the next morning! They made it home safe, though not without a few trials, and now they are back in the groove of Mountain Time, I was really bummed when they left- it was SO fun having them here! I can’t imagine people I’d rather be with than my parents! TRULY! I’m so lucky to have two such amazing people as parents, and to have such great relationships with both of them! I felt really homesick when they were gone, but by the time I post this March will be nearly done, and I’ll be but weeks away from the homecoming of 2005! Should be fun- but don’t worry, I’ll still enjoy myself in the mean time!

HELLO everyone!

Yes! I'm back from France and I had an AMAZING time! I have been so on-the-go this week that I have yet to write it all down here in the blog, but don't you worry! It will not be neglected! SO! For now I'm off- Amsterdam tomorrow until Monday morning (no school on Easter Monday!), and then next week I should have a chance to update about ALL my adventures! I'm still working on getting all my france pictures up too, so just hold your horses another few days and then you'll be richly rewarded (in that creepy you're-looking-at-someone-else's-life way... hehe, just kidding, of course!)
I'll eat a pancake for you!
Love!
Claire

Hey y'all!

Just a quick note to say that I'm off to meet my parents in Paris for a few days, then headed down to Cannes, and then I'll be back here a Firenze to show those folks around this town! So! E-mail, write, call- do what you like- or just continue on in your silent ways peeping at my thoughts without a word, that's just fine! Haha... anyway... talk to you all soon! There will be many pictures of France, fear not!
LOVE!