screw you la somme.

before we came to strasbourg, we were on strict instructions to, under no circumstances, allow ourselves to be put in the dorm paul appell. so after my 5 hr train ride, the 3 trams to get here (which, it turns out, could have been 1 if i hadn't followed the "instructions"), and the aimless wandering with luggage to find my street, i am told that la somme, my dorm where the rest of my classmates are already checked in, is full. no keys. "see, no keys." i might have cried. but all my friends were very positive and helped me carry my stuff up to their rooms so i could go at a leisurely pace to paul appell.

when i get to paul appell, woman is a bitch. sends me to registration. "registration closed at 7." "you have to register." so i go out and stare at the locked building and head back in to check in, now for the third time that day. i get my key to my unmarked room across from a stairwell that faces a ghetto apartment building. yay. i'm also told to register monday morning at 9am at the university. which part? i'm not sure. but it doesn't matter since i really can't register until tuesday. thanks bitch.

at around 8.30, ilana, lisa, and i head out of la somme with my luggage. our plan is to get dinner along the way to paul appell, maybe catch some of the soccer game. as we pass through the "lobby," ilana spies the desk guy who had assured her the previous night that he would "reserve" me a room. so we waited in line to speak with the man.

this man is a character. speaks spanish and some french. ilana questions him about my "reserved" room. "no, no keys. no rooms. all gone. sorry. paul appell. oh wait, but there is this one room, 317. but you don't want it, there's nothing there." "what do you mean nothing there? no bed?" "yes bed, but it's dirty." so we take the keys to look at the BAD room. it's "perfect." so i weasel my way into la somme. the building with stagnant air and no pillows and dirty floors.

oh and we can't forget about the 2 phone calls i got this morning from INDIA. the man was trying to call someone in room 315. why couldn't i take a message or get her? i'm sorry, i'm not the front desk (although i did try knocking on the door).

gastronomique.

friday night i couldn't sleep. apparently this is a new thing for me because i couldn't sleep last night either. also, i've become one of those always hot people. i'm thinking it's because i basically spent last summer in an air-conditioned office building and didn't experience summer?

lyon was splendid. and susi a great host. in the morning we stopped for a cafe and pastry in vielle lyon and then continued up the hill to a beautiful cathedral that overlooks the city. susi was able to point out every main attraction. we then made our way to the center/shopping area of the city and took advantage of the "solde," i.e. sale of the season. the first time this trip i've bought something other than postcards :)

we had a very lyonnais lunch, comprised of a salad with saucisson au briochet, this weird lyonnais bready-eggy delicious thing in a rocquefort sauce, and iles flottant. yum. also add in a bourdeaux rose and a cafe.

we did more walking around and made our way home for a short break before going to the hotel de ville for a beer. and later a crepe in vielle lyon. basically a beautiful night.

luckily i was able to pass out despite the sleep and slept the latest i have in weeks, 9am.

au revoir geneve.

it's 4pm and i'm sitting in my room, listening to jose gonzalez, and getting a bit nostalgic, as this is my last afternoon in geneva. and while in theory i'd like to go out and take in my last hours with the city, i've resolved to just sit here and be a little sad. this evening we are having our farewell fondue dinner in the old town, which will be nice, but several people have already left, so it'll still feel incomplete.

today i did two loads of laundry, since i don't know when i'll have the chance to easily do it again, and i'm slowly deciding which books and pamphlets to take with me. for lunch i ate the last of the food in my icebox and i'm currently drinking my last glass of wine. the bottle is already in the trash.

i've also been having some crazy dreams. many about the restaurant industry and people from my past life. weird. if i knew how to write in a journal, i would right now. oh man desperado just went on...it may be time to go outside.

mont blanc is not just a pen company.

after not making it home until LATE on saturday night, up ilana and i got at 7.30am to be at the bus station by 8.30 to take a bus to mont blanc (well, actually to chamonix, the town at the bottom of the mountain). unfortunately, the bus schedule changed saturday night, which meant we missed our bus. as we stood at the bus stop, weighing our options, ilana flagged down a swiss police car. they would not take us to the bus station. then several hired taxis passed us. finally at 8.15 one of the taxis that had passed by came back to get us. we made it to the bus station by 8.25 and off we went!

by the time we got to chamonix at 10am, we were exhausted. but we quickly found our way around the adorable alpen village to a superb patisserie. i picked up a great little danish-y pastry with custard and fresh blueberries. we took them to this hole in the wall internet cafe, where we figured we could buy coffee without being embarrassed about the pastries we bought elsewhere. this cafe was BOMB. one of the best "renverse" i have had. maybe because i was so tired and hadn't had a cup of coffee in a LONG time. we then bought 2 sandwiches a emporter to eat on the mountain.

we took the funicular up the mountain. it was spectacular. basically just lots and lots of photo ops. on our way down, we stopped at the halfway point to eat our sandwiches. these random sandwiches from the internet cafe were fabulous. i had one with chorizo, goat cheese, pesto, lettuce, and tomato. ilana's had smoked chicken, mozzarella, avocado, lettuce, and tomato. i would basically eat them non-stop if i could. after our lunch we took a hike to lake bleu, which was a bit difficult in my birks, as there was still snow to trudge through. and my foot definitely got stuck in snow a couple times.

and somehow i've gotten the tannest i've been in a long, long time.

hup holland hup!

saturday - lausanne. supposedly one of the two must-see places on lake geneva. the other is chateau chillon. clearly we read guidebooks.

lausanne was a lot like montreaux. upon arrival, susi, ilana, and i started walking up to the old town, through a market, of course, and stopped at a great little cafe. we had carac, susi's favorite swiss dessert and, while eating, were found by lisa and abbie. i think it may be time for someone to write a travel book on "market days through europe."

we then went to the olympic museum. and then went paddle boating. and then ate. and then ate a little more.





and once we came home, back we went to the music festival and to fanzone. but the russia v. netherlands game was truly ruined for me by some anti-american brit who basically yelled with me through the whole overtime period of the game. loser. too bad he was well-educated.

la fete de la musique and FANZONE

this weekend was la fete de la musique. everyone in geneva was out walking around the parks, listening to various types of music, drinking and eating lots of cheap, good food.

susi came in at 7pm, just as we were getting back from montreau. we went straight to the park to join in with the rest of geneva.



however, as we made our way to listen to some bossa nova, we suddenly found ourselves at the fanzone for the turkey v. hrvatska game. which was intense. not only did we get like dix churros pour cinq franc, instead of the usual six, but the game went into overtime, with turkey scoring in the last moments of the period to send us into penalty kicks. turkey fans had already started leaving and suddenly were sprinting back once the roar had erupted. lucky night for them, as hrvatska missed 2 shots.

lifestyles of the rich and famous.

friday, after our oral exam, off we went to the swiss riviera, i.e. to montreaux to see chateau chillon.

again, it's a bit unfair that our weather has been this spectacular.

montreaux was like disneyland. everything perfectly pruned, with walking paths along the lake, some sailboats, and a giant castle. after about a 45 minute walk, we reached chateau chillon, which was not at all like french chateaus, but like the castles we read about as children. the best part was that we were able to see almost the entire castle and from every window we saw lake. and mountains. and beauty. ahh.

oh, and i went swimming in the lake. finally.