JP in Paris (Friday-Sunday)

On Friday, JP and I met Soso for lunch by Saint Germain. We wandered the neighborhood, then went to Pierre Hermé to get croissants and macaroons before I took JP on a surprise trip: To the Ménagerie in the Jardin des Plantes! If you know JP and myself, you know that we LOVE zoos (almost as much as aquariums), so it was a great, off the beaten path way to spend an afternoon in Paris in the sun!

We saw TONS of animals, from jaguars to camels to orangutans to red pandas! We have tried to see red pandas at all the zoos we've been to, but they have always been hiding or asleep. This time, they were wide awake and in plain sight! I'm sure some of the parents were surprised to see two twenty-somethings so excited about red pandas! Of course, our trip also included a Pierre Hermé pain-au-chocolat break in the Jardin des Plantes labyrinth!





After the zoo, we went to Ile St. Louis to get Berthillon ice cream. We had chocolate, caramel, currant, and fraises de bois, it was SO delicious!


Our next stop: Pont des Arts. Like some other famous bridges around Europe, there is a really sweet (or cheesy) tradition for couples to carve their names or initials on a lock and lock it on to the bridge, then throw the key into the Seine. Of course, JP and I could not resist a moment of mushiness! We counted posts and found the middle of the bridge, and took tons of pictures so that we can find it again later.



After locking the lock and tossing the key, we headed to the Pantheon to go to Han Lim, a Korean restaurant. It was absolutely delicious, though not quite as good as Shanghai Mong in Koreatown in NY, or JP's mom's Korean BBQ! We finished the night by opening the bottle of Champagne that my mom brought me for my 21st birthday. It's such a cool bottle, with pictures of Paris monuments on it. It was great to get to celebrate our "birthdays" together in Paris!



Saturday, we wandered around Paris and enjoyed the sunlight. We rented Velib's, which are bikes stationed around Paris that you can rent using your Metro pass. There are hundreds of stations all over Paris, so you can pick up bikes and drop them off wherever you want. We rode all over the city, and made our way to our final major destination for the trip: the Museum of Magic! We saw a magic show, learned about famous French magicians, and saw all sorts of magic artifacts!



We kept riding around, and then went to the market to get bread, cheese, and salami. We rode bikes from my neighborhood to the neighborhood where we were staying, all the way across Paris! We stopped at Bastille to see the breakdancers (and find out if JP knew any of them!). He recognized a few, and knew people that they dance with, but didn't know any of them personally.


Sunday morning, before JP's flight home, we met Nikki, her boyfriend Mike, and her friend Alli for brunch in the Marais. We stopped into Pylones (and proceeded to leave after getting in trouble for taking pictures!), then checked out of our apartment and got on the train to go to the airport. It was sad saying goodbye to JP after such a great week, but nice to know that I would be seeing him again much sooner than the last time we said goodbye!


And there you have it, my Spring Break!

Gros Bisous,
Jaimie

Madrid!

After a pre-historic setback, I finally made it to Madrid (with a lot of help from my dad!) on Tuesday, April 20th. 5 days late, but I was there!


Immediately after getting off the airplane, I met my mom and Natalie for paella. Mmmmm... Welcome to Spain! After dinner, we went back to the apartment, watched some Glee, and got some rest. We had a lot of touring to do!

Wednesday began with the changing of the guards at the Palace. We walked through the gardens to the Egyptian Temple, which was given to Spain by the Egyptian government.




We took the funicular across a HUGE park (7 square miles!) that used to be the palace hunting grounds. After a VERY long walk with very few signs, we finally made it to the zoo! Our feet were a little worn out, but we discovered something that Americans have yet to figure out: you can rent golf carts to drive around the Madrid Zoo! One look from Natalie, and we were off on our very own safari.







After the zoo, we went to Mercado San Miguel to get food for dinner. The market is AMAZING! All sorts of tapas, counters where you can sit to have a snack while you're shopping, bright colors, fresh fruit... sensory overload! We got some Jamon Iberico and a few types of Spanish cheeses, bread, tomatoes, and delicious desserts. Who needs to go out to a restaurant when you have this market nearby?






On Thursday, we went to the Museo del Prado and the Reina Sofia. We saw an awesome mime/statue guy on our way, definitely one of the best I've ever seen! At the Prado, we went on a scavenger hunt trying to find the most visited paintings in the museum. Our map seemed to be wrong, so we spent way more time wandering than we had expected, but saw some fantastic art! The Reina Sofia was even better. After a lunch break, we made our way into the building (which is absolutely gorgeous) and had our fill of surrealism! We saw Guernica, which is way bigger than I thought (I'm used to the Mona Lisa being deceivingly small...), and tons of Dalì. They have a great garden in the courtyard, so we took advantage of the beautiful weather before grabbing an ice cream and heading back to the apartment to get ready for dinner.





To celebrate our last night, we had AMAZING tapas for dinner! Three kinds of Spanish meats, tomato and avocado salad, shrimp bruschetta, delicious anchovies, potato omelet, asparagus and egg bruschetta... I'm still amazed that we ate it all!



The next morning, we went looking for shoes for Natalie (WHAT? Natalie wants to go shoe shopping?!), then made our way to the airport. My mom and Natalie left a few hours before I did, so I wandered around the airport, got some lunch, and found a few English magazines. Back in Paris, I re-packed and went to bed early, because on Saturday morning I was off to Charles De Gaulle to pick up JP!

I wish I could have spent more time in Spain, and I can't wait to have the chance to go back. I want to spend more time in Madrid and visit Barcelona, there's so much to see and so many cool things to do! Thankfully the volcano didn't cancel my trip!

Gros Bisous,
Jaimie

Dublin!

This past weekend, I went to Dublin with Katie, Joe, and Juan. After a late-night trip to Paris Beauvais (an airport I did not know existed before this semester) and a quick flight to Dublin, we arrived. We were greeted by a friendly cab driver, who told us about the best place to get Fish and Chips and which sites we couldn't miss.



After a good night's sleep, we woke up early to take a full-day bus trip around the area outside of Dublin. Definitely a great way to spend Good Friday! We saw tons of sheep, visited a medieval cemetery, and drove past where they filmed parts of Braveheart. For lunch, we had AMAZING Guinness and Beef stew, and even found a pint (which can only be sold in hotel restaurants on Good Friday).





Back in Dublin, we visited the National Wax Museum. Not quite Madame Tussauds, but we saw Harry Potter and some Vikings! After dinner, the boys went back to the hotel to work, while Katie and I searched for dessert. We discovered Eddie Rockets, which is basically Johnny Rockets. A shared Brownie Sundae and a Chocolate Milkshake later, we were back and the hotel and preparing for Satuday!




Saturday morning, we walked to the Dublin Zoo. We saw orangutans, giraffes, elephants, hippos, and gorillas. Conveniently, Katie is also a child at heart, and we spent a few hours wandering around before stopping at a tea room for lunch (while the boys were at the Jameson Distillery). We wandered over to the medieval jail, then met the boys at the Guinness Storehouse. We learned all about how Guinness is made, tasted Guinness that had been kegged next door that morning (Guinness that fresh SERIOUSLY tastes like coffee), and then enjoyed a pint at the Gravity Bar. We wandered back to the hostel to meet with friends that Joe and Juan had made to go on a pub crawl. Katie and I stuck to Bulmer's Cider (both apple and pear), while the boys were happy to have more Guinness. It is Dublin, after all!






Sunday morning, we went to Dublinia to learn about the vikings and the settling of Dublin. After a tour, we went to Christchurch Cathedral (before the afternoon Easter Mass). Katie taught me all about medieval architecture and stained glass windows. We went to get Fish and Chips, then went to Dublin Castle.





After a tour, it was back to the airport, where we made our way back to Paris. A quick trip, but definitely worth it!!!

Gros Bisous,
Jaimie