I get bored sometimes.

j'adore

Châteaux mania!

This past weeked our program took us to Lore Valley, home to Châteaux d'Amboise, Château de Chambord, Château de Villandry and Chenonceau. We couldn't have gone at a better time, the seasons turning and all the leaves are falling & changing colors. We went for two days and tried to see as many chateaux as possible. Most of the places make their own wine as well, so we did our fair share of wine tasting, I even got to run through a grape field and eat them straight of the vine! Mmm! The best part of the trip was that we got to stay at a chateaux for the night. Christine and I shared a room, that apparently use to be a hiding spot for some doctor during the French occupation. Our beds had a canopy over it and had the most peaceful view over the Valley in the morning!



Lee & I frolicking through the woods

Danny!

Beaucoupe vin!

Halloween!

This Friday all the Americans are throwing huge Halloween party at the dorm for the French, Spanish and I think one Chinese guys;) Going along with the October spirit, my roommates decided to decorate a bit....

* really it should say 1985, but who's counting?

Hopital

As i mentioned before, my parents came to visit a few weeks ago. We had such an amazing time, but at the end of our trip April's intestines gave us a little surprise: they wanted out! Ok, that sounds a bit funny, but really we had to race her to the ER because of all her stomach pains. Dad and I were making fun of her, thinking she just had to poop out a giant cheese ball, but turns out part of her intestine needed to be removed. The hopitals (yes, this is not a misspelling) in Paris are a bit 'different' than in the US, especially in the ER on a Friday night. In the end she made it out alive, with the help of a few french friends (for translation), support of Sherry and Greg and dad making me call the US Embassy, the American Hospital, the president, a few bribes and 6 nuns;) yeah, dad was freakin' out. Anywho, I present you my proof!

The day after. A little crippled, but OK!

A little dirt never killed anyone?

They were very resourceful.

Jenny Lewis

We went to see Jenny Lewis' first show on her Acid Tongue tour in Paris.

Highlights: the venue held MAYBE 40 people, I could basically hold Jenny's hand while she was playing, after the show the band hung out at the bar & bought us beers, I told Jenny about the time I saw her at Harmony in Silverlake & my phone rang 'more adventurous' and most importantly I got Darren an autograph!

Mac N' Cheese

Being away from home makes you miss some of the simplest things. So, the other night I decided to make homemade Mac N' Cheese for my fellow Americans. Needles to say it was a hit!




Try it sometime, it's really easy to make:
1 stick of butter
3 cups of whole milk
a blog of really good quality cheddar
flour
salt & pepper
couple bags of noodles
bread crumbs
and a lot of TLC!

boil noodles and let cool.
melt the butter in a sauce pan, slowly add milk in.
sprinkle some flour in to make it a bit thick, but not too much.
Slowly add cheddar, while quickly whisking into the butter.
Once it's a good consistency pour the cheese over the noodles in a baking dish.
Mix it all up.
Then sprinkle bread crumbles on top and back in the over on 350 till golden.

Viola you're finished!

* I added brocolie to mine and we though ham or bacon might taste good as well!

Futbol, Futbol, Futbol

I've been lucky enough to catch two games since I've been here. 1) Bayern Munich vs Olympique Lyon - Champions League in Germany. Game ended in a tie:/ 2) France vs Tunisia game in Paris. Paris won! 3-1!


*Sarah when Tunisia scored!

*Guilhem when Tunisia scored!

Dachau

Sad place, but actually really beautiful. The leaves were staring to fall from the trees, it was a really nice fall afternoon.

Something to think about: If you lived in Dachau, how old would it get telling people what town you lived in? or would it?





*There were so many amazing pieces of art depicting the turmoil that was taking place inside the camps. This was one of my favorites.

Disney Castle!!

The day after Oktoberfest was a little rough, but we rallied and went to visit Neuschwanstein Castle. Disney Anaheim replicated their princes castle after this one. See the resemblance? On the way home, the train broke down, so we had to take a bus to another train to another train....luckily we brought along a few bottles of wine, french fries and candy;)


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* Note the Rosie O'Donnell finger.

Oktoberfest!

My parents and their good friends the Hammonds came to visit me in Europe! We met eachother at the train station in München Geremany for Oktoberfest, then we all headed to Paris for the remainder of thier trip. Oktoberfest was insane. Let me paint a picture for you: men in lederhosens, colorful tents everywhere, carnival rides, Germane folk songs being sung in the street till 6 in the morning and beer beer and more beer! What a better place to have a family vacation. My friend Adam has been traveling around Europe for a couple months, so when he found out we were coming to Oktoberfest, he hitched a ride down from Berlin to get his second helping of the madness.







* photo credit: my dad.