Wicked Wednesday

Today was a day of movies. I met up with Sammi after her class at Starbucks. Finally a Starbucks! There are none in Nice and I really miss it. So I was able to get my white chocolate peppermint mocha for the season. And even though it's not even the Christmas season...it sure feels like it. It is way colder here than I would have though. I have to get all bundled up to go outside.

At Starbucks I got this cheddar and pickle sandwich. I didn't see any pickles on it. Strange. There was is brown gooey stuff that gave the sandwich so much flavor. Sammi said it was pickeled radish or something and it's really big in the UK. I loved it!

After Starbucks we headed over to the Kings Cross train station to find...what else...Platform 9 3/4. Turns out you have to go on platform 8 to find it. Think they messed that on up a bit. Sammi and I both tried to get through to the Hogwards Express except the Platform must have been broken today. Looks like we are going to have to take the Weasley's flying car to make it to school.

Next we headed over to the British Museum. This always reminds me of the movie The Mummy Returns because the beginning parts of the movie take place here. We only went to see the Egypt exhibit. It was really neat. There was a temporary exhibit that I paid to go see because it was on the Book of the Dead. I though there would be an actual gold crested, cool, ancient looking book, but it was more just a bunch of papyrus pages that were part of the Book of the Dead. Not AS cool, but still cool. Turns out there is more than one Book of the Dead too. I didn't know that.

After the British Museum we went to Baker Street, as in Sherlock Holmes! There is a little Sherlock Holmes Museum that we went to. It was more a walkthrough of his house. I liked it better than a regular museum.

Then it was time for dinner. We went to a typical English pub and guess what I found? Vegetarian fish and chips! It was actually fried cheese instead of fish but still, I got my fish and chips in England without breaking my veggie streak!

After dinner it was off to Broadway! Well not Broadway, but the London equivalent. Buying tickets day off is really the way to go. Sammi and I got second row tickets to see Wicked for half price. Wicked was amazing. If you don't know, Wicked is the story of the Wizard of Oz through the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West. It's kinda a prequel/ extended version to the movie. I was awed by the performance. Everything was amazing, the costumes, the songs, the signing, the effects, everything.

Now Sammi and I are back home. She just a package from back home and we are having fun opening everything. It's like Christmas. So far was have opened blankets, sheets, pillows, Halloween candy, can goods, margarita mix, PB &J, and a swiffer. All the important things in life.  We are going to call it an early night though, so we can wake up early to go wait all day for the Harry Potter 7 premiere. I hope we get to see some celebs!

Off to Neverland

Flying into England felt like Peter Pans Flight at Disneyland. Too bad I wasn't actually flying into London because it would have been even better. If you haven't been in the ride, first of all your crazy, go on it, it's too cute, but second, you get to "fly" over a scene of London on your way to Neverland. Here's a secret: if you ever go on the ride: look at Big Ben. You will see a hidden Mickey.  So I got to Stansted London Airport, no problem. Went through passport check. No problem. Well there was a tiny problem. I didn't know Sammi's address, so I didn't know what to put on my little official form but he said he'd make an exception. I'm sure. I bet that happens all the time. Anyways why do they hassle you so much when you go to a new country? All I'm going to do while I'm there is boost your economy mucho!  Next task, find train Sammi told me to take. No problem. Found the desk to buy tickets. But, since i Have the best luck in the world... happens that trains stopped and they didn't know when they would be running again. Do strikes follow me everywhere?! So annoying So I try to call Sammi. International calling is joke! Why can't calling just be simple? You type a number and it calls? Why does there have to be international codes and all the jazz? Is it really necessary? I don't think so. It's the same thing as calling from Wisconsin to Hawaii. It's overseas but not complicated now is it? No! International calling was invented by the phone companies to make more money. Just like most everything else in the world! So now I am on my bus to Victoria's station which I'm pretty sure ( only a hint of doubt) is somewhere close to where Sammi can meet me.  After a bunch of searching, Sammi and I finally found each other. We took the Tube to Kings Cross and walked to her student living apartment. That night we got dinner at a vegetarian restaurant. (Sammi is a veg like me!) Then we went to a pub near by that had student night. Is Tuesday international student night or something. It's the same thing in Nice at Jonathan's pretty much.  Tomorrow Sammi has class in the morning, but after we have plans to go to the British Museum and maybe see a musical later.

London Calling

Tomorrow I am heading to London to visit my high school friend Sammi. She is also studying abroad for the semester. I am writing this now because I don't plan on taking my computer. You can only take so much when your flying.

So, I will be in London tomorrow afternoon until Sunday. And good thing I have so many days because there seems like so much to do in London. I was researching everything I have to see while I'm there. Here's the list I put together.
1. British Museum
2. Sherlock Holmes Museum
3. Buckingham Palace
4. Big Ben
5. Tower Bridge
6. Tower of London (Sammi actually already bought tickets to see the Ceremony of Keys. Apparently you have to request tickets months in advance.)

7. Crash the Harry Potter Premiere! (11/11/2010)
8. Globe Theatre
9. See a Broadway Show
10. Abbey Road
11. Westminster Abbey
12. Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross
13. Find the Peter Pan Statue
14. London Eye

I'm sure there is a lot I'm leaving out. When I get back on Sunday I will update you on how much of my list I completed. Hopefully everything plus more.

Cheerio. Until Sunday.

Santa Barbara weather

The weather is Nice is exactly like the weather in Santa Barbara. One day it can be raining like crazy and freezing and then the next...its 70, sunny, prefect day to go surfing. Today was one of those days, except no surfing in Nice...there are no waves.

It's November 6, a perfect beach day. The words November and beach together in the same sentence don't exist in Wisconsin. I felt like I could have actually gotten a tan today. It was beautiful.

I caught up on some reading while at the beach. Can you believe that I have already finished two book since being here. (Anyone who knows me, knows I don't read...and if I do it takes a year to read one book.) Usually during the school year I don't have time to read because I am too busy reading books for class, but high school, that's a different story.

After the beach, a friend and I walked up to the ancient Roman ruins in Nice. They were pretty same and nothing exciting. It was a nice long walk though. There were lemon and orange trees on they way. We stole ( I mean picked) some. Now I know your not suppose to just pick something off a tree and eat it but...oops. The orange was actually really good, just a little sour. And I'm still alive so I don't think it was poisonous or anything. 

After our long walk we stopped by monoprix to pick up stuff to make for dinner. We ended up making stir fry. I am so full now.

Hopefully the weather will stay nice for a few more days, but knowing how bipolar the weather is in Santa Barbara and have low expectations for the continution of beach weather in Nice.

Halloween

Due to Isla Vista, the last couple Halloween's have been not so fun from to the 50,000 people that roam DP drunk. This year I was determined to have a good Halloween in France! If you didn't know, Halloween is not such a big holiday outside of the US (go figure.) The bars seem to be the only ones that celebrate here, which works for us college students. (Oh I mean high school students, forgot we go to IPAG.)

It has been raining like cray in Nice, but that didn't stop us from our Halloween escapades. By the way...did you know that Nice gets more rain than London? Crazy right?! It doesn't rain as often as London, but when it rains here, it rains hard. Like it is right now, and how it was last night.  The only thing the rain ruined was our hair.

This year for Halloween I wore the mask I had bought in Venice. I guess you could say I was the female version of Casanova!

Before the rain took my hair hostage.

Being American and a Halloween lover (outside of IV), I saw it fit to have the Halloween pre-party at my place. After a couple rounds of Thumper, Never Have I Ever, and a lot of wine, it was off to Akathor. Most of the french people were not in costume. Boo. No spirit!

We had planned to go to High Club after, but we didn't make it there. Today is the Day of the Dead which apparently is a National holiday so that means NO SCHOOL! And thank goodness. We all needed a day of rest after last nights festivities.

I'm sad that Halloween came and left so quickly. That is probably the only thing I like about IV Halloween...that is lasts for a week, not just one night. Oh well. Until next year!

I wish we wore costumes everyday and normal clothes only once a year!

Shoe style abroad

So I think It's time I did a blog about shoes. Since being in France I have already bought three new pairs.
One pair floral tennies from H&M,

one pair of grey, mary janes flats from MOA,

and one pair of black "combat" boots from a cute boutique.

Check out some myshoes.com equivalents to the shoes I bought to let my European style flourish.

http://myshoes.com/mossimo/osaka/grey

http://myshoes.com/steve-madden/piraat/black

http://myshoes.com/bc-footwear/cornrows/multi-white

I've noticed that style here is much more comfort driven. Tennies, flats, and flat boots are worn by everyone. Its probably because here in Nice we do a lot more walking than in the States where we drive everywhere. However, just because comfort is key here, that does not mean that the French lack in style. On the contrary, the French know how to dress up their comfy shoes.   

Check out what some of my friends wore out last night to the bars. Flat, tan ankle booties with a buckle and metallic accents and gray, wedge ankle booties with a side zip. Both pairs are fashion forward, yet comfortable for a night of dancing.

http://myshoes.com/kelsi-dagger/wilma/grey

http://myshoes.com/nine-west/abject/tan-and-beige

I did bring a pair of heels with me but to be honest, I have only worn them once. With all the walking, and dancing, and walking some more...I regret even wearing them. From now on I stick to my flats here. Many of the heels I have seen, however, have had a significantly lower heel than one might see in the US.

http://myshoes.com/enzo-angiolini/jarita/black 

See... they are still sleek and sexy without the 4 inch stiletto. 

Shoes are huge in Europe. There is a shoe store at least every block. I have never seen so many different shoe stores in my life. And they represent every price range. (I prefer the store on the cheaper side of the spectrum.) Of course you have your Louis Vuitton and Minelli stores, but trust me you can find cute shoes at any price.  

So that's my quick update on shoe fashion out here in Nice, France. In my opinion French fashion is stylish yet geared towards comfort. Your feet don't have to die for the sake of fashion. Go to myshoes.com to see the shoes I posted or to search through thousands of other styles. Also, check out their latest venture, shoes.tv to catch up on the latest shoe news and trends.

Happy shoe hunting.

Tatouage

Today I got my second tattoo. It says "Marcher dans un reve", which means walking through a dream. Johanna went with me.

I was squeezing her hand so tightly...I don't know who was in pain more. Sorry Johanna! It hurt way more than my peace tattoo, but it was less painful than I was expecting. On the ribs is one of the more painful spots to get a tattoo. I have a pretty high pain tolerance though. Either that or I'm just a baller. Maybe both:)

Don't worry, ma mere knew this was going to happen eventually. (Not saying she approves of it, because I'm sure she won't like it, but it shouldn't come as a complete shock to her.)

 

Now it just needs time to heal.