Rock Climbing

Update`

Here is the cute table setting I did for dinner that I promised to show and my prized rooster salt and pepper shakers. Top right is from the Iowa State Fair and bottom left is a pic of Katie and I before she moved to San Francisco.

Repelling!

I love Paris

Paris was beautiful, but boy am I exhausted! Heather and I packed everything into 3 days that most people would probably do in 5 or 6 but it was absolutely worth it; the Arc de Triamphe, Champs-Elysees,Concorde, Pantheon, Bastille, The Paris Opera (really neat even though it took 2 hours in line to get tickets), Versailles, Notre Dame, Lourve, Moulin Rouge, La Maison de Victor Hugo, Sacre-Coeur, Eiffel Tower, a little shopping, and many many many stairs. We stayed in Montmartre and booked a hotel online but when we got there realized we had no bathroom in our room, the sheets were stained and the tv didnt work. We were just so happy to be in Paris that we didnt care, but the next day we asked if we could have a bathroom (a girls gotta shower sometime!). Luckily, for only 10 more euro a night they switched us to another hotel (albeit on the 6th floor) we had our very own bathroom, clean sheets and a balcony. Not too shabby! We practically cried when we got there the next day at 11pm because we were SO happy!

I love Paris. The food was absolutely wonderful! We tried our share of crepes, baguettes, pan au chocolate, quiche, omelettes... I would feel bad for eating so much, but we walked and walked and walked and our hotel room was a 6 floor walk up.No wonder the French don't get fat!

I'm not exactly sure why, but the French love the color black. Everyone wears black from head to toe, but amazingly it never looks morbid, only chic. I've seen my share of men in my travels, and I have to say that by far Paris is no. 1 for best dressed and most handsome men. They look dapper in their black wool coats and scarves (they ALL wear scarves without looking too femmy, how they pull it off I don't know...must be a Parisian thing).

Anyway, it was the best Christmas present I could have received. A dream fulfilled. I have always wanted to see Paris and it was so neat to see a lot of the art work in person that I have learned about.

Paris...good food, beautiful art work, beautiful people, beautiful buildings.

My next goal: learn French!

Gingerbread Men

Yesterday was a rough one. Nilla, Heather and I spent the whole day studying, so we decided to take a little break that night for some creativite therapy ie decorating gingerbread men. Last week we found some inexpensive gingerbread men decorating kits at ASDA, and decided it was time we used them. We had a lot of fun, and it a nice reminder that life is about so much more than just studying and school work!

Thanksgiving

A group of us went to the Tobey Carvery for a Thanksgiving dinner. It was delicious, and nice not to have to worry about cooking. Not quite the same as a good 'ol American Thanksgiving with family and pumpkin pie, but still a nice evening.

We <3 ASDA!

Heather, Nilla and I found out that for only 3 pounds we can order groceries online from ASDA (which is the UK's equivalent to Walmart) and have them delivered! So, we ordered our groceries and had them delivered today, which was absolutely exciting and so much cheaper than Sainsburys or going to the shops on campus. It felt like Christmas! Now we have enough food to last for the next while.