It's about 11:00 p.m., and I'm in the lobby of the Radisson Blu Hotel near the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. I can't believe this expeience is actually over. About a month ago, I was definitely ready to go home, and while I'm still very excited to go spend Christmas with my family and see my friends again, it felt very odd to be on the train from Nantes today knowing that I probably wouldn't be going back.
This past week absolutely flew by. I had 6 exams, one each on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, plus two on Thursday. Some of them were extremely theoretical, which I think defeats the purpose of an MBA program in a way, but that's how they do things here guess. I think I did fine on them anyway.
Friday after our marketing exam, the classmates had arranged for a farewell lunch for Pan and I, since we were both just here for the semester. 19 out of 20 classmates showed up, and it was the first time since the first week of class that all of us were able to just enjoy spending time with each other without the stresses of class getting in the way. We spent about two hours just chatting and reminiscing about the past three and a half months. We complained about some of the classes and assignments, but mostly we shared our fondest memories. The classmates got me a very cute snowman to take home and remind me of the time I spent here, and even more special was a card that they all signed. They had some very kind words, and I realized on Friday just how much I am going to miss all of them. As with any group of 20 people that spends more than 40 hours a week together, we had our frustrating moments, but it was such a wonderful group of people who all had so many unique experiences to share.
Later on Friday night, I went out to dinner with Cherif, Xavier-Freddy, Pan, Ying, Carlo, Jerome and Jerome's friend. Had what I thought would be my last gallette and crepe in Nantes, and then we went out to a bar and had a few more drinks. We ended up staying out until 3:30 a.m., but it was absolutely worth it to spend just a few extra hours with my favorite people from the program!
On Saturday, I did the last bits of Christmas shopping that I needed to get done, and then packed for most of the evening. Saturday night, I went to Gihad's for some drinks and dessert, and then we headed out to a karaoke bar. I sang "I Love Rock'n'Roll" and a lot of the crowd was singing along, so that was a great time. We left around 2:30, and I went home and went to sleep.
Got up this morning and wrote my section of a group paper that is due in January. I vowed to myself that once I got on the plane, I would not think about Audencia academics every again, and now I don't have to!! I had been trying to contact Leslie throughout the week as the hot water and heat in the apartment was nowhere to be found (except I did have heat in my bedroom). She told me Thursday she would come over Friday to fix it, but of course sehe never did. I was sure I would end up leaving today without even seeing her, but she called at 5:15 and asked when i was leaving. I told her 5:45, and she actually showed up. I made a quick comment about how cold my shower was, and she didn't seem to think anything of it. What a girl. Xavier-Freddy came to pick me up at 5:45, and waited with me at the train station until my train to Paris came in.
Easy trip into Paris, and now I just have to relax tonight before my flight at 12:15 tomorrow. My uncle will pick me up in Chicago, and then it's a week with the family.
I'm sure I will do some more reflecting on my exprience during the flight tomorrow, so I'll have one final post once I get back to the States.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Mother-Daughter Vacation!
Just got back yesterday from a whirlwind trip around Belgium and France with my Mom. We had an absolutely fantastic time, and I wish she could have stayed longer!! Here's the very long recap:
Mom arrived at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport around 11:15 on Saturday.
I was there to greet her and the first thing she told me is that she was exhausted. Apparently the guy in front of her on the plane reclined his seat as soon as he could, and she couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep. We had a 1.5 hour trip to Brussels that afternoon, so we figured she'd be able to sleep a bit on the train. We headed out of the airport and got to the Paris Nord train station. Our train wouldn't be leaving for a couple hours, so we headed across the street to get some lunch, and each indulged in a croque madame, which is a huge grilled ham and cheese sandwich covered in more cheese and an egg. Absolutely horrible for us, but I'd been eating salads for a few weeks leading up to my mom's visit just so I could enjoy whatever food we found along the way and not feel guilty about it.
BRUSSELS
Trip to Brussels was very quick, but Mom did sleep for most of it, so that was good. We booked a bed & breakfast that was a little bit out of the center of town, but Mom had been e-mailing back and forth with the guy who owned the place, and he seemed like a very interesting person. The B&B also looked like a unique place to stay, so we were quite excited to get there. We got directions from the train station, and it was about a 10 minute trip on the metro to the closest stop to the B&B. We arrived at B&B Zinneke without too much trouble, and were welcomed by our host, Gert. He was very sweet, and did everything he could to make us feel at home. Our room was on the 4th floor of a building, and it was decorated as an ode to Jaques Brel... a famous singer-songwriter from Brussels. I'll try to post some pictures once my mom sends them to me!
That night we headed out to our first Christmas market, but to get there, we had to struggle to figure out how the metro worked. The closest stop to the B&B was Simonis, but there were two stops for Simonis... Leopold and Elisabeth. Turns out that the lines connecting to Simonis are in a loop, so we ended up going the wrong direction first, and it took us about 30 minutes to get to the Christmas market, when it should have taken 10. Once we got there, though, it was a very pretty sight. All sorts of booths selling various things, from food to candles to clothing.
Our only purhase that night, though, was Vin Chaud (hot, mulled wine with different fruits and spices). Absolutely delicious!!
We saw the ice skating rink, a couple of merry-go-rounds, and a ferris wheel. It was fun to just watch all the little kids having a great time on the ice and on the rides.
We headed back to the B&B after a while and found dinner at a place down the street. The menu was entirely in French, and I could only read some of it, but we both ended up with delicious dishes with chicken and curry (supposedly a southwestern belgian dish, but I don't know about that).
The next day we woke up to a great breakfast of pastries, yogurt, fruit and cheese. Unfortunately, the weather that day was not cooperating. It rained very hard most of the day, and it put me in a bit of a bad mood. I hated being in a sour mood since my mom was there and it was her vacation, but I let the bad weather get under my skin more than I should have. We did find a godiva chocolate shop, where Mom got some chocolate covered strawberries and I got some hot chocolate. She loved the strawberries, and the hot chocolate was a pick-me-up for me.
We found a flea market, but it was just full of junk really. I really needed to get out of the wet and cold, so we found a bar that my friend Jerome recommended. The Delirium Cafe had 2,400 types of beer!! Ridiculous. My mom and I each started with a cherry beer, and while she sipped hers, I finished mine and moved onto a coconut beer. Very different, but both tasted great.
After the beer, we went to Chez Leon to have our Mussels in Brussels, which my brother told us we had to try while we were there. We started with Lobster Bisque, which was more brothy and less creamy than what we're used to in the States, but perhaps that's how it's really supposed to be? We also ordered mussels, but we didn't know they would be fried, and neither of us was very impressed. Oh well. At least we can say we ate them.
We headed back to the Christmas market, and got some more hot wine. On our way back home, I started to feel a little sick, but we got to bed and I figured I'd be better by the next day. I was ok the next day, but Mom was not feeling well at all. We had another breakfast with pastries, and then headed out to find Mary's Chocolates, which was supposed to be one of the oldest and best in Brussels. We found it, and while we'd planned on doing the tour, Mom needed to head back to the B&B to rest up some more. I bought a bar of chocolate, but to be honest I don't feel like we missed out on much by not doing the tour. After Mom got some rest, we headed back out to see more of the city. The center of town was very pretty, with some nice old buildings.
We found Mannequin Pis, which is a statue of a little boy relieving himself in a fountain. We both expected the statue to be much bigger, but at least we saw it. Had sandwiches for lunch since neither of us was terribly hungry, and then just wandered some more. The big church in the middle of town had a nice lights and music display at night, so we took pictures of that.
The next day, Mom was feeling absolutely terrible, and we were supposed to catch a 5-hour train ride to Strasbourg. She rested a bit longer while I headed out to get a few souveniers and some chocolate, and by the time I got back to the B&B, she was up and ready to go to the train. We said goodbye to Gert, and then we were off. The train to Strasbourg was uneventful. We had our own compartment, which was nice, and Mom was able to get some more sleep. About 1 hour before we arrived in Strasbourg, the lights and heat in our compartment went out. We sat in the dark for about 30 minutes until the conductor told us that we could move up to the front of the train for the rest of the trip.
STRASBOURG
When we got into Strasbourg, it was pouring rain, but I was determined to keep my spirits up now that we were in a new city. We took the tram to our hotel, and were very pleased with our room. It was essentially a suite, with a separate area for my mom and for me, plus a very nice bathroom. A great deal for the price too! It was late after we'd gotten settled, so we decided to go out for some dinner. The rain had stopped for the most part, so it was a nice walk to the center of town.
My mom had found a place called "L'Epicerie" which was supposed to be good food for a good price, so we went there. Each had a glass of wine and tartines (open faced sandwiches). Mom had salmon and horseradish (seemed like an odd combination to me, but she said it was good), and I got tomato, mozzarella and pesto. For dessert, she had chocolate mousse and I had a chocolate cake with some type of spiked icing. Tasty, and very filling. Got a good night's sleep, and were up the next day to find the Christmas markets that Strasbourg is so famous for.
We first stopped at a little cafe to have some pastries and coffee, which were good. Strasbourg had about 10 Christmas markets spread throughout the city, and we just walked all over the place to explore them. The Christmas markets in Strasbourg seemed much more local and authentic than what we found in Brussels. Saw some arts and crafts types of things that we kept in mind for gifts. We also found some very fun hats!
That night we went on a boat cruise of Strasbourg, and it was very interesting to learn more about the city's history. It was also nice to get off of our feet for about an hour and a half while still exploring the city.
We found a great restaurant that served authentic french food at a good price. We had some wine, delicious homemade soup, boeuf bourguignon and a yummy creampuff type pastry for dessert. We made our way back to the hotel after that, and got ready for our trip to Colmar the next day.
Colmar is about 30 minutes from Strasbourg by train. It had five different Christmas markets throughout the city, and they were also very nice. Mom found a few gifts for some family members, and we just got lost in the city... literally. We kept going in circles, even after trying to follow the map.
We stopped for lunch at a local cafe, and each had a quiche. Far too big, but still tasted good. Once we figured out how to get out of the main part of town, we had some time to waste before the train went back to Strasbourg, so we stopped in a chocolatier for some dessert. Mom got a chocolate eclair, and I got some type of chocolate mousse dessert served in a glass with an apple crumble on the bottom. Both were met with rave reviews.
Once we got back to Strasboug, we headed back to the Christmas markets to find the last few gifts we wanted to get for people. Found another excellent restaurant for dinner, and while I couldn't read the menu perfectly, we both had great dinners. Mom got Escalope de Veau (essentially veal scallopini), and I got a local specialty called "Choucroute" which is saurkraut served with sausages and ham. I'm not usually a saurkraut fan, but this was a very good meal.
PARIS
The next day we headed to Paris. Got into the city around 1:30, then had to get to our hotel on the Champs Elysee. We arrived before the normal check-in time, so the room we were supposed to have wasn't ready. Instead, we were upgraded to an executive suite. Perfect!! We had a full day planned, so we only stayed in the room long enough to drop off our luggage and then we were back out on the town. Our first stop was Angelina's, which is famous for its African hot chocolate. It's 7 euros a cup, but by all means, absolutely worth it. It's incredibly thick and rich, and essentially tastes like someone melted a chocolate bar, poured it into a mug and served it with fresh whipped cream. It was amazing.
Mom also got an omelette to eat, while I got another quiche. Both were good, and incredibly filling.
The last time my mom was in Paris, she got to see the Louvre from the window of the Musee D'Orsay, so this time, we headed from Angelina's to the Louvre so she could see it up close. She was amazed at just how big it was. I don't think I realized how enormous it was until I was there with the Milan kids a couple weeks ago, so I'm glad she got to experience it too.
Next, we went to Montmartre to visit the artists there. Such a unique area-- it's really how I imagine Paris was be before it became such a tourist area. We made our way down to Pigalle next, so Mom could see the Moulin Rouge at night. When we were here with dad and tim in 2002, we thought Pigalle was a bad part of town, so we essentially just took a quick picture and left. Now that I've been to the area a few more times, we felt much more at ease, and took some pictures.
Next stop was Galleries Lafayette because I had heard that the Christmas tree in the middle of the store was enormous and really pretty to look at. The metro stop took us right into the shoe department, which my mom told me was supposed to be the largest shoe department in the world. Needless to say, she was quite excited about being there.
The whole time, she kept saying "This is just so neat", and "Oh I would just love to go on a shopping spree here." Like a little kid in a candy store. I loved seeing her that excited! The tree was quite spectacular, but walking around the different departments was more fun. They even had a little section dedicated to clothes based on the Muppets. I really wanted this dress :)
After Galleries Lafayette, we walked back to our hotel, which was quite a bit further than we'd thought, but it was good exercise! Got changed for dinner, then headed back out. We went back to the same place that I went with Celina, Joe and Sarah, and it did not disappoint. My mom had the pumpkin soup and duck, and I had a mackerel salad and some scallops. A perfect final dinner for the mother daughter vacation!!
After dinner, we stopped to take pictures of Notre Dame, which had a really nice tree set up in front.
From there, we went to the Eiffel Tower.
We got to see it sparkle, which was fantastic! Mom seemed to really enjoy it, as did I.
We ended our night at the Arc de Triomphe, took some more pictures there, and then went back to the hotel to settle in for the night.
We got up Saturday morning, found some breakfast at Brioche Doree down the street from the hotel, and then headed to the airport. Mom got there in plenty of time, and got checked in. We reminisced about the trip for a while, and then she was off to catch her plane.
The week went soo quickly, but it could not have come at a better time. Now I just have to get through this final week with 6 exams in 5 days. Not looking forward to it, but I am so excited to go home and see my family after it's all said and done! Wish me luck for the next few days!!!
Mom arrived at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport around 11:15 on Saturday.
I was there to greet her and the first thing she told me is that she was exhausted. Apparently the guy in front of her on the plane reclined his seat as soon as he could, and she couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep. We had a 1.5 hour trip to Brussels that afternoon, so we figured she'd be able to sleep a bit on the train. We headed out of the airport and got to the Paris Nord train station. Our train wouldn't be leaving for a couple hours, so we headed across the street to get some lunch, and each indulged in a croque madame, which is a huge grilled ham and cheese sandwich covered in more cheese and an egg. Absolutely horrible for us, but I'd been eating salads for a few weeks leading up to my mom's visit just so I could enjoy whatever food we found along the way and not feel guilty about it.
BRUSSELS
Trip to Brussels was very quick, but Mom did sleep for most of it, so that was good. We booked a bed & breakfast that was a little bit out of the center of town, but Mom had been e-mailing back and forth with the guy who owned the place, and he seemed like a very interesting person. The B&B also looked like a unique place to stay, so we were quite excited to get there. We got directions from the train station, and it was about a 10 minute trip on the metro to the closest stop to the B&B. We arrived at B&B Zinneke without too much trouble, and were welcomed by our host, Gert. He was very sweet, and did everything he could to make us feel at home. Our room was on the 4th floor of a building, and it was decorated as an ode to Jaques Brel... a famous singer-songwriter from Brussels. I'll try to post some pictures once my mom sends them to me!
That night we headed out to our first Christmas market, but to get there, we had to struggle to figure out how the metro worked. The closest stop to the B&B was Simonis, but there were two stops for Simonis... Leopold and Elisabeth. Turns out that the lines connecting to Simonis are in a loop, so we ended up going the wrong direction first, and it took us about 30 minutes to get to the Christmas market, when it should have taken 10. Once we got there, though, it was a very pretty sight. All sorts of booths selling various things, from food to candles to clothing.
Our only purhase that night, though, was Vin Chaud (hot, mulled wine with different fruits and spices). Absolutely delicious!!
We saw the ice skating rink, a couple of merry-go-rounds, and a ferris wheel. It was fun to just watch all the little kids having a great time on the ice and on the rides.
We headed back to the B&B after a while and found dinner at a place down the street. The menu was entirely in French, and I could only read some of it, but we both ended up with delicious dishes with chicken and curry (supposedly a southwestern belgian dish, but I don't know about that).
The next day we woke up to a great breakfast of pastries, yogurt, fruit and cheese. Unfortunately, the weather that day was not cooperating. It rained very hard most of the day, and it put me in a bit of a bad mood. I hated being in a sour mood since my mom was there and it was her vacation, but I let the bad weather get under my skin more than I should have. We did find a godiva chocolate shop, where Mom got some chocolate covered strawberries and I got some hot chocolate. She loved the strawberries, and the hot chocolate was a pick-me-up for me.
We found a flea market, but it was just full of junk really. I really needed to get out of the wet and cold, so we found a bar that my friend Jerome recommended. The Delirium Cafe had 2,400 types of beer!! Ridiculous. My mom and I each started with a cherry beer, and while she sipped hers, I finished mine and moved onto a coconut beer. Very different, but both tasted great.
After the beer, we went to Chez Leon to have our Mussels in Brussels, which my brother told us we had to try while we were there. We started with Lobster Bisque, which was more brothy and less creamy than what we're used to in the States, but perhaps that's how it's really supposed to be? We also ordered mussels, but we didn't know they would be fried, and neither of us was very impressed. Oh well. At least we can say we ate them.
We headed back to the Christmas market, and got some more hot wine. On our way back home, I started to feel a little sick, but we got to bed and I figured I'd be better by the next day. I was ok the next day, but Mom was not feeling well at all. We had another breakfast with pastries, and then headed out to find Mary's Chocolates, which was supposed to be one of the oldest and best in Brussels. We found it, and while we'd planned on doing the tour, Mom needed to head back to the B&B to rest up some more. I bought a bar of chocolate, but to be honest I don't feel like we missed out on much by not doing the tour. After Mom got some rest, we headed back out to see more of the city. The center of town was very pretty, with some nice old buildings.
We found Mannequin Pis, which is a statue of a little boy relieving himself in a fountain. We both expected the statue to be much bigger, but at least we saw it. Had sandwiches for lunch since neither of us was terribly hungry, and then just wandered some more. The big church in the middle of town had a nice lights and music display at night, so we took pictures of that.
The next day, Mom was feeling absolutely terrible, and we were supposed to catch a 5-hour train ride to Strasbourg. She rested a bit longer while I headed out to get a few souveniers and some chocolate, and by the time I got back to the B&B, she was up and ready to go to the train. We said goodbye to Gert, and then we were off. The train to Strasbourg was uneventful. We had our own compartment, which was nice, and Mom was able to get some more sleep. About 1 hour before we arrived in Strasbourg, the lights and heat in our compartment went out. We sat in the dark for about 30 minutes until the conductor told us that we could move up to the front of the train for the rest of the trip.
STRASBOURG
When we got into Strasbourg, it was pouring rain, but I was determined to keep my spirits up now that we were in a new city. We took the tram to our hotel, and were very pleased with our room. It was essentially a suite, with a separate area for my mom and for me, plus a very nice bathroom. A great deal for the price too! It was late after we'd gotten settled, so we decided to go out for some dinner. The rain had stopped for the most part, so it was a nice walk to the center of town.
My mom had found a place called "L'Epicerie" which was supposed to be good food for a good price, so we went there. Each had a glass of wine and tartines (open faced sandwiches). Mom had salmon and horseradish (seemed like an odd combination to me, but she said it was good), and I got tomato, mozzarella and pesto. For dessert, she had chocolate mousse and I had a chocolate cake with some type of spiked icing. Tasty, and very filling. Got a good night's sleep, and were up the next day to find the Christmas markets that Strasbourg is so famous for.
We first stopped at a little cafe to have some pastries and coffee, which were good. Strasbourg had about 10 Christmas markets spread throughout the city, and we just walked all over the place to explore them. The Christmas markets in Strasbourg seemed much more local and authentic than what we found in Brussels. Saw some arts and crafts types of things that we kept in mind for gifts. We also found some very fun hats!
That night we went on a boat cruise of Strasbourg, and it was very interesting to learn more about the city's history. It was also nice to get off of our feet for about an hour and a half while still exploring the city.
We found a great restaurant that served authentic french food at a good price. We had some wine, delicious homemade soup, boeuf bourguignon and a yummy creampuff type pastry for dessert. We made our way back to the hotel after that, and got ready for our trip to Colmar the next day.
Colmar is about 30 minutes from Strasbourg by train. It had five different Christmas markets throughout the city, and they were also very nice. Mom found a few gifts for some family members, and we just got lost in the city... literally. We kept going in circles, even after trying to follow the map.
We stopped for lunch at a local cafe, and each had a quiche. Far too big, but still tasted good. Once we figured out how to get out of the main part of town, we had some time to waste before the train went back to Strasbourg, so we stopped in a chocolatier for some dessert. Mom got a chocolate eclair, and I got some type of chocolate mousse dessert served in a glass with an apple crumble on the bottom. Both were met with rave reviews.
Once we got back to Strasboug, we headed back to the Christmas markets to find the last few gifts we wanted to get for people. Found another excellent restaurant for dinner, and while I couldn't read the menu perfectly, we both had great dinners. Mom got Escalope de Veau (essentially veal scallopini), and I got a local specialty called "Choucroute" which is saurkraut served with sausages and ham. I'm not usually a saurkraut fan, but this was a very good meal.
PARIS
The next day we headed to Paris. Got into the city around 1:30, then had to get to our hotel on the Champs Elysee. We arrived before the normal check-in time, so the room we were supposed to have wasn't ready. Instead, we were upgraded to an executive suite. Perfect!! We had a full day planned, so we only stayed in the room long enough to drop off our luggage and then we were back out on the town. Our first stop was Angelina's, which is famous for its African hot chocolate. It's 7 euros a cup, but by all means, absolutely worth it. It's incredibly thick and rich, and essentially tastes like someone melted a chocolate bar, poured it into a mug and served it with fresh whipped cream. It was amazing.
Mom also got an omelette to eat, while I got another quiche. Both were good, and incredibly filling.
The last time my mom was in Paris, she got to see the Louvre from the window of the Musee D'Orsay, so this time, we headed from Angelina's to the Louvre so she could see it up close. She was amazed at just how big it was. I don't think I realized how enormous it was until I was there with the Milan kids a couple weeks ago, so I'm glad she got to experience it too.
Next, we went to Montmartre to visit the artists there. Such a unique area-- it's really how I imagine Paris was be before it became such a tourist area. We made our way down to Pigalle next, so Mom could see the Moulin Rouge at night. When we were here with dad and tim in 2002, we thought Pigalle was a bad part of town, so we essentially just took a quick picture and left. Now that I've been to the area a few more times, we felt much more at ease, and took some pictures.
Next stop was Galleries Lafayette because I had heard that the Christmas tree in the middle of the store was enormous and really pretty to look at. The metro stop took us right into the shoe department, which my mom told me was supposed to be the largest shoe department in the world. Needless to say, she was quite excited about being there.
The whole time, she kept saying "This is just so neat", and "Oh I would just love to go on a shopping spree here." Like a little kid in a candy store. I loved seeing her that excited! The tree was quite spectacular, but walking around the different departments was more fun. They even had a little section dedicated to clothes based on the Muppets. I really wanted this dress :)
After Galleries Lafayette, we walked back to our hotel, which was quite a bit further than we'd thought, but it was good exercise! Got changed for dinner, then headed back out. We went back to the same place that I went with Celina, Joe and Sarah, and it did not disappoint. My mom had the pumpkin soup and duck, and I had a mackerel salad and some scallops. A perfect final dinner for the mother daughter vacation!!
After dinner, we stopped to take pictures of Notre Dame, which had a really nice tree set up in front.
From there, we went to the Eiffel Tower.
We got to see it sparkle, which was fantastic! Mom seemed to really enjoy it, as did I.
We ended our night at the Arc de Triomphe, took some more pictures there, and then went back to the hotel to settle in for the night.
We got up Saturday morning, found some breakfast at Brioche Doree down the street from the hotel, and then headed to the airport. Mom got there in plenty of time, and got checked in. We reminisced about the trip for a while, and then she was off to catch her plane.
The week went soo quickly, but it could not have come at a better time. Now I just have to get through this final week with 6 exams in 5 days. Not looking forward to it, but I am so excited to go home and see my family after it's all said and done! Wish me luck for the next few days!!!
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