BANSKY

I found this guy's artwork on one of my favorite blogs (designer jots). I really like it so I thought I would put it on my own blog. I think it is so cool how he/she (they are anonymous) will take a mess of something (like an already vandalized wall) and then turn it into something so fun and interesting. His website is banksy.co.uk to see more of his stuff.

My apartment

Today I cleaned the apartment so I thought I would put pictures up. Enjoy!

The Kitchen with lovely orange flower tiles.

The other side of the kitchen. We don't have a lot of storage space so a lot is stored on the table.


Another view of the kitchen.


The bathroom.


More of the bathroom.


My bed and my bedside table (the one I bought for cheap)


The opposite side from my bed. The dining area and our chest of drawers.


The front wall with the dining area and our sofa. You can see the door to the kitchen as well.


The back wall. That is my bed in front. I couldn't tidy my roommate's stuff so that is still a little messy. You can see the lovely windows though that look out onto cute little rue Granet.

Birthday Weekend

21 centimes!

I had a great birthday. I got up and went to buy a french pastry with Hilary and Miquel. It was an apricot and croissant thing and it was delicious. Yum! After that I went shopping and had amazing birthday luck. I managed to find so many things in the French January sales. I bought a pair of pinky purple pants, two pairs of flats (I have never bought two pairs of shoes in one day!), a shirt, a skirt, and a jacket!!! Everything was so cheap. I felt a little guilty, but Hilary, Ali, and Miquel convinced me that I shouldn't feel guilty on my birthday.

Oh I forgot! Before going to get the pastry I opened my presents. My family gave me wonderful gifts including a re-sized ring. It was given to my mum for her 18th birthday from her sister. It has a garnet, which is very appropriate for my birthday since it is my gem stone. I really love it. I also got a really nice photo frame from my grandparents. It looks very nice in my apartment.

After the shopping I got a little reading in at a cafe, which was something I was hoping to do on my birthday. I finished the Twilight series last night actually. There is a cafe near my apartment called Happy Days. They do the best Chocolat Viennois (hot chocolate with whipped cream). After that Ali, Hilary and I made a scrumptious meal at the apartment and then friends came over with a bottle of champagne. We went out for drinks, I was serenaded by a spanish band in a Tapas Cafe, and we ended up dancing at a club. Overall a very fun and exciting evening.

Friday evening, Eleanor arrived. We had a great weekend. It included shopping, eating, walking, and going to a museum here in Aix. We also took pictures of the fountains here, which she should be emailing me shortly. It is great to know that a friend is so close. I find it a little mind boggling that we have ended up in France at the same time. I am looking forward to visiting Ellie in Montpellier.

Classes finally start tomorrow and then at the end of the week I am going to England to celebrate some more! What a great birthday!

Hilary and me in my apartment. I'm wearing my new shirt and new trousers.

All of us with the Spanish band.

21!!!

I am officially 21 here in France now. It is too bad that it isn't such a big deal here. I am so glad that I never have to worry about drinking age again. Now I can have a glass a wine with my meal. Yay! I am going to celebrate well. I have this weekend here in Aix and then I go to England next weekend! I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to me.

so they're striking already

Yup. There is a strike planned for this Thursday (my birthday). At least I won't have to go to class for my 21st! For those who can read french this is what the director wrote to us.

Il y aura déjà une journée de grève universtaire ce jeudi 29 janvier, que vos profs de la Fac et de l'IEP vont certainement respecter.

Si d'ici lundi 2 février le gouvernement et les universitaires n'arrivent pas à un accord, ce sera peut-être de nouveau la grève, dont la durée est, à l'heure actuelle, imprévisible.

Also this is the website for the strike http://www.29janvier2009.fr/.

Yay for French politics!

Some Paris photos finally.

Hilary and me at the lunch in Chartres

Caitlin, Lisi, and me with a view of Chartres

Our group with tour guide, Lucille, in front of the Cathedral in Chartres


An awesome table at the Ron Arad Exhibit in Pompidou

At the Ron Arad Exhibition (click the link to see what it was like)

The Seine and the Eiffel Tower

With Hilary in front of Sacre Coeur

A very cool sculpture of a polar bear at the Musee d'Orsay

In front of the Institut de France (I think)

My new apartment

I moved in this morning. I am very pleased with my apartment. I am going to take and post pictures as soon as I buy batteries for my camera. I went out and did some shopping for the new place. I bought a cute pillow for my bed, a mirror to put on my dresser, and a wire shelf thing to use as a bedside table. I also found some nice photo things of flowers to put on the walls. Cheap (very cheap) art. They make the room much less bare and make me happy so I am thrilled with them.
We had a nice dinner in the apartment with some of our friends. Ali cooked a delicious meal with mini bow tie pasta and creamy tomato sauce with sun dried tomatoes and zucchini. We also had braised leeks, which I surprisingly enjoyed a lot. Afterward, some of us went to watch Vicky Christina Barcelona. I really liked the movie, but it left me somewhat confused about life. It kinda leaves the viewer with two unsatisfactory ways to lead their life. I guess it is the usual pessimistic Woody Allen outlook.
Tomorrow is Sunday so that means no shops are open. I don't know what I will do. Hilary and I have two goals. 1.) Get Hilary's pictures from her camera to my computer 2.) Look into where we will travel for our Feb. break. We are thinking Italy at the moment.