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Thursday, September 25, 2008

Flying Home

After six months of living with the frogs, I found myself almost desperate for a little hometown glory. Baguette and brie no longer appealed to me, all I wanted was some Monk's french fries or Craving's Cafe.

Luckily I had already planned in advance and had a whole month and a half at home. July 20 couldn't come any quicker and when it finally did, I was at the airport a whole 2 hours in advance, praying I could make it on my flight to JFK... of course, I didn't. This is all because of my mom's good friend Dave. You see, Dave is a pilot for Delta and "hooks me up" with buddy passes. So let's just say I fly a lot cheaper round trip to and from France, which is great but that means I am also flying stand-by. Every other time I have flown there's been no problem and I have gotten right on the plane, but of course this wasn't the case, and I had to try and change my flight.

After a mad rush to find the correct agent, I was told I would have to find my baggage, take it all the way back to check-in and re-check it. I did this with a smile and a skip in my step, hoping with all my power that I would make it on a flight to the USA... anywhere. I didn't care where I went just as long as I was out of France and in the good ole US of A. Some how my amazing luck pulled through, and not only was I on a flight to Cincinnati Airport (which is in Kentucky) but I was also in First Class and treated like a princess (although the audio didnt work on my TV, but alas I can't have all the luck, right?)

Once at the Cincinnati Airport, I again waited my turn in the standby line for a flight to Philadelphia. There were 3 people in front of me and only 2 open spots. I kept hoping and praying for a connection to miss so that I too could be on that flight... my hopes were dashed and I was forced to call my mom and tell her that I was stuck in Cincinnati, unless I could find another airport closer to home to fly into. As luck would have it there were flights to Scranton, Lehigh Valley, and Harrisburg all leaving the airport at the same time at night. I had to decide which flight was my "best choice". I opted for Lehigh Valley, and sat and prayed that it would work out.

After 15 minutes of waiting in the terminal, I hear over the loud speaker, in a certain southern twangy but remotely ominous voice, that a tornado warning is in effect and the terminal must be evacuated... it appears my luck has definitely changed and for the worse...

So I grab my laptop, my leftover subway hoagie (my first expense in the USA) and my carry on bag and head down into the depths of the Cincinnati Airport. If I were a director and in need of a horror set, I think that the basement of that airport would be an ideal choice. Not only do the walls echo sounds, but you hear what I assume is water, dropping about every 4 seconds. The walls are covered in what could be asbestos as it continually flakes off whenever something touches it. The dank smell that accompanies an abandoned building clings to your clothing. For some reason, even the lighting adds to the movie appeal as it casts everyone in a jaundice murky pallor. As I sit and wait for what seems like hours (probably only 45 mins), I realize what a story this is... Seriously, who has been in the Cincinnati Airport basement, let alone any airport basement?

Once we're given the all clear, the thousands of stranded passengers march upstairs to wait for our planes to have clearance to fly once again. I'm again waiting for the all clear to board the plane and don't even find out til 5 mins after the plane was supposed to depart that I CAN fly to Lehigh Valley.

Finally after almost exactly 24 hours of trying to make it home, I am in my Dad's convertible comfortably riding back to my home...

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Official Update

Hello One and All to the Greatest Blog of All,

As I know it's been quite a while but.... I think I may officially be back, up and running with this whole blog posting thing... As is apparent several things have made blogging quite difficult for me in the past couple of months;

  1. a recurring and ever vigilant case of writer's block that hit me every time I even logged into my blog
  2. a lack of natural blogging resources, specifically wireless (or as we say here in paris wifi)
  3. and the greatest difficulty, a lack of genuine bona fide blogging time
So I thought it would be nice if I gave you a sort of review of where and what I've been visiting and doing over the past 4 months of the time I have been neglecting my blogging responsibilities.

Where in the World I have been*:
  1. Bruges, Belgium: Possibly one of the most beautiful places to visit as a beer lover (which I discovered I am when it comes to cherry flavoured beer) As you explore the city you feel as if you are transported centuries back to a time of knights and maidens. Lucky for me, I was traveling with Paul and we managed to make the most of all things Belgium; waffles, fries, chocolate and, of course, beer.
  2. Amsterdam, Netherlands: What was I to do, when I heard my semi-good friend Ben was coming to Europe and NOT making a stop in Paris... well meet him in Amsterdam, of course! Although I had already been to Amsterdam before and it was lovely, it was nice to visit it again with some dudes (Ben and Lee).
  3. Newquay, Cornwall, England: The land of Faeries and magic. Autumn and I visited the lovely English Countryside for 5 days of adventure and exploring. I was lucky enough to meet Jane, family of a friend, and we explored all that Cornwall has to offer; from biological sanctuaries to a duke's own personal island to hidden walks to ancient villages... Cornwall is truly one of the most magical places I have ever gone...
  4. Mimizan, France: Despite the appeal of France's most popular surfer village, I had an awful time here... mostly because of horrific work experience and a concussion... but the 2 days I spent on the beach almost made up for all the nasty French...
  5. Giverny, France: The French equivalent of Longwood Gardens, but infinitesimally more awesome. In Giverny, Monet built several grand gardens to "inspire" him as an artist... If you have ever seen any of Monet's artwork involving flowers (best known being the Waterlillies), just imagine the real version. Just walking through the gardens is like being in one of his pieces of art, absolutely incredible.
*Please note: By clicking on any of the hyperlinks you will be transported to an awesome photo album filled with pictures of these beautiful places, enjoy!

People who have visited:
  1. Paul Cross: My very nice English friend (he says he is, but I have a better accent them him) came for my birthday and to visit Bruges. He was soo awesome to get me a nice present too and bring all my parents' birthday presents to France for me, so he gets a nice BIG SHOUTOUT.
  2. Jon Little and Ellen Cusworth: These two are deserving of remaining a couple of this list as Ellen has described Jon as "her other half"... They have visited me several times and are the co-creators of the official title of my room, "Chessie", which is abbreviated from Chez Jessie. Like Paul, they also attended the 3 day celebration of my birth, and enjoyed in the merriment.
  3. The Edwards Twins: Two nice and identical boys from Maryland were kind enough to come and visit (along with bringing a huge suitcase of summer clothing), sadly they were taking all the pictures so I don't have any to post of them.
  4. Tiffy: How lucky am I that my best friend in the whole entire world came to visit me? Pretty damn lucky! She was here for 5 of the most fun days in Paris ever.... Even more awesome is the fact she was here for her birthday and with her very nice boyfriend Dan. We got to see fireworks at the Eiffel Tower and listen to Dan play music with some Frogs...
And that's all folks!

Hope you enjoyed the update of my life, be prepared to be bombarded with blogging updates within the next couple of days... so STAY TUNED!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

I'm Back

Good news everyone! I am back in Paris and raring to write me some blog... haha.

Today I am headed off to give into the man and convert over to the "new" system of Metro pass. I am not too excited about that, but hey life is changing right?