Sorry about the lack of updates. Between the limitted Internet connections and my laziness, I haven't gotten around to posting, although I wrote a little in a Word document Wednesday. Lol. Here are the rest of the details from my trip:
Yesterday [Tuesday] my parents went to some shpeal about a timeshare at the place we were staying at 9.30, so us kids slept in until about 11. It was the latest I’ve slept in since coming home, and it felt really nice. When we got up, we left for the pool we watched the fireworks by the night before, and ran into my parents on the way. They met up with us later on after dropping some stuff off and changing into their swimsuits. Bryce, Zach, and I went on ahead and took a couple laps on the lazy river. One time around, we were trying to see who could stay the driest while going past all the squirting pipes and dumping buckets of water, and Bryce was celebrating because he was just finishing up and had missed all of them. Then a bucket dumped water right on his head hahahaha. I lost it, and then a bucket dumped water on my stomach and pushed me all the way through the tube!! I struggled to think quickly and resurface. Since I was still laughing as I fell through under water, I got some in my nose and lungs. Plus my neck cracked so I was kind of sore afterwards. Zach and my mom went on one of the twin slides, while Bryce and I went to go find my dad. They got cheeseburgers, but I wasn’t too hungry so I just sat with them. Then Zach came over and told us Mom had gotten hurt on the slide. She was sitting at the table Bryce, Zach, and I had put all our stuff at with a big pack of ice held against her head. Apparently when she was going around the last curve of the slide, she hit her head really hard against the side and it made such a loud thunk that Zach and the lifeguard on top could hear it echoing through the tube. At the bottom, the lifeguard helped her find a bag of ice and sat her down at our table. Then she said there was tylonal for sale in the shop for $6. Haha. The others came over shortly after, and we sat with my mom for a bit. Then all five of us went to a pool with chairs in the water and we chilled for a while. After that, Bryce and my dad left to go golfing, and my mom, zach, and I went to another part of the Wilderness resort, the outdoor waterpark right behind our hotel building. Although we only had time to go in the pool for a minute and down one slide before a storm came in. We grabbed food on our way inside to the indoor waterpark just next to the outdoor one. It turned out to be a kiddie one, so we went on a slide or two and it was pouring out! Bryce and my dad had their round of golf cut short, so they were back in the room before long and we went up to join them. The whole family went back down to play bumper boats together, and then we dried off and played a round of laser tag. I ranked 4th overall in lazer tag :D! After that, we went to Marley’s to eat, and had both shark and alligator bites for an appetizer, then had normal food. Haha. I had chicken fettuchini we came back then went to bed.
This morning [Wednesday] we got up a little earlier so that we could pack up and check out. After checking out at around noon, we went to our next hotel to check in. The room wasn’t ready yet, so we went straight over to Mount Olympus water and amusement park. My parents managed to talk the guy into free parking by saying we were staying at one of the resort hotels. Lol. When we entered, Bryce and my mom went on the Zeus and Hades rollercoasters, and my dad, zach, and I went on a giant go-kart track with two spiral things. We waited in line for an hour or so, and then Zach found out he couldn’t ride with me since he was too tall, so he watched with my mom and Bryce while my dad and I raced around. Then we did some bumper boats with the water sprayer disabled, and then made our way over to the waterpark. We found a table near Poseidon’s rage wave pool, and went into the indoor amusement park to ride a rollercoaster with my mom, Bryce, and Zach. Then we went on a bus ride and Bryce went to find my dad at the pool while my mom and zach rode the teacups with me. Lol. We met the other two in the wave pool, and then my mom, Bryce, Zach, and I went on a pink and a yellow slide close by. After that, we explored the indoor waterpark and went on a couple more slides and the lazy river. Bryce went back to the table to tan some, while zach, my mom and I went on the outdoor lazy river. After a couple laps, Zach and my mom went to the hill full of slides in the distance and I went to join Bryce. When his phone died, Bryce went on the nearby racer slides. My dad stopped by shortly after before going to find zach and my mom on the other side of the waterpark. I read the rest of my British cosmo magazine I didn’t have time to finish reading on the airplane, then my dad and mom came back. They went on the yellow and pink slides again. I decided to go check out this awesome wave pool and lazy river over by the hill, but just as I was going over there, they were shooing people out and closing up. Ohhh well. We packed up our stuff and left the waterpark around 7.30/7.45 and went on a few more rides before leaving, including a small wooden rollercoaster (I did it twice :D) and some swings like the tree in the mall of America. We went back to the hotel to get our room key, and had to help the frail, old lady move a loft into our room since the maintenance man forgot. Lol. Then we went to the Pizza Pub for dinner. After that, there was no internet at the motel, so I was unable to post this once again.
Thursday we got up and got ready for the day. My mom drove Bryce and my dad to the golf course so they could replay their round from Tuesday. Then she came back and we checked out around 11.30. After that, Zach, my mom, and I went to a cheese factory in a nearby town. It was really interesting. We bought some fresh cheese and a couple souvenir things, watched a video and saw them making their last batch of cheese for the day, and then we tried to come back to Wisconsin Dells, but the GPS led us through the countryside and it took us 40-60 minutes to get back when it should have taken 20-30! It was just before 3 when we got into town, so we had time to stop at a Top Secret upside down white house funhouse thing. It was cool, but kind of overpriced for what you got.. although that’s how most touristy things are haha. Afterwards, we hit up a souvenir shop or two before picking up the boys, but I didn’t find anything cool. All the souvenirs in Wisconsin Dells remind me of being on the beach in florida or something. It doesn’t really make me think Wisconsin whatsoever. Anyway, once we got the boys, we passed by our old Wilderness resort building to grab some ice for the cooler and I changed into something a little nicer because we had a giftcard for a 5star steak and seafood restaurant. The restaurant was really fancy. They had someone pouring our water, someone putting napkins on our laps, and the meals were like $30+. I ordered escargot and a twice backed potato, although the escargot was prepared differently than I was expecting and they were gigantic snails, almost too much of a mouthful at once and even cutting them up wasn’t working for me, so I didn’t eat too much. Fortunately the potato was quite filling. Immediately after supper, we head out of town and arrived in a suburb of St. Paul around 10 something. We stayed at a Best Western hotel and this morning [Friday], we ate breakfast and came to Minneapolis for Zach’s 10.30 pre-op at the Shriner’s. At 12.30, that was finally over and we were going to go to the amusement park at the MOA since my grandma won 3 free wristbands in a drawing, but we were all theme parked out, so we are saving them for another time and decided to go back to grandma’s early. We had some difficulties getting onto the Interstate with all the construction, but once we made it on, we were good to go. We stopped in Albertville at the outlet mall on the way, and I got two shirts from Guess. Then downed my meal at Burger King and went to Charlotte Russe with Bryce while the rest of the family finished up. There, I bought a knit top and two pairs of wedges since it was buy one get one for $10! It was an awesome day :D! We got back to my grandma’s around 4(?) and then I repacked my suitcase with everything I left behind from Europe, chilled, watched TV, and Bryce shot off a couple of his fireworks tonight. Tomorrow after everyone is up and ready, we’re heading HOME :D! I can’t wait to see everyone. It’s been 6 weeks since I’ve seen the friendly faces of Fargo. And tomorrow, I’m hoping to see Uncle Kracker at the RRV Fair as well YAY! It’s going to be a good time, I hope! Then Sunday it’s back to work!
Until next time,
xoxMiranda
Friday, July 8, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Day thirty-four/thirty-five -Minnesota/Wisonsin Dells
Yesterday, I got up early again, then spent time online and went downstairs and watched tv most of the morning. I pretty much just hung out and everyone else went back out to the pool. But since I was leaving in the afternoon, I didn't want to get my suit wet so I could pack it. After lunch, I watched a little more TV and then went up to unpack my suitcase and repack it with the stuff I needed for Wisconsin Dells. My family came to get me around 5, and we headed out for Wisconsin shortly afterwards. We stopped for the night in a town about an hour and a half away from Wisconsin Dells, and this morning we headed out at around 9AM. We checked into the Wilderness resort in Dells and hit up the water parks. We started with the wave pool, then I went to the lazy river with zach and dad while bryce and my mom went on some big slides. we all met back up again later and went on a few slides together, and then went to find our room (it wasn;t ready for us originally when we checked in). Turns out the person didn't activate our keys, so they didn't work and my dad had to go back to the desk. Once that was all figured out, we ordered pizza and had supper. Around 7.30, we went to another pool with a sweet lazy river with a little slide and rapids and everything. I went with Bryce around that once and then the pool closed, so we went to our table and waited for the fireworks to start. They put on a rockin' display! IT lasted like 45ish minutes. Then afterwards we came back to our room and are getting ready for bed, but i have a nasty stomach ache so i dunno how well i;m going to sleep tonight :(
byeeeeeeee
miranda
byeeeeeeee
miranda
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Day thirty-three -Cold Spring, MN
Hey all,
I know this is less exciting than my Europe adventure, but it's bridging to my Wisconson Dells trip, so whatever. This morning I got up at 6.15 and had a bowl of cereal, then layed in bed and went online until other people were getting up. I went downstairs and had a couple donuts, then my mom called and i talked to her for (i kid you not) over an hour. Then I joined the others out at the pool for most of the day. Rick and Jen came over and dropped Nathan off for the day while they went golfing. Then Bill came over as well. Us kids came in around 4, and after drying off and changing, we had dinner. Following that, I fell asleep in front of the TV until everyone started doing fireworks. I went out to join them for that, then came back inside and was wide awake, so I played Wii Mario with Katie, Shannon, Ben, and Kayla. They were all tired and went to bed, so I've been sitting on my computer putting pictures from my trip on facebook and stuff. Yeah, fun times. Tomorrow my family is coming and we're going to Wisconson.
Peace out.
miranda
I know this is less exciting than my Europe adventure, but it's bridging to my Wisconson Dells trip, so whatever. This morning I got up at 6.15 and had a bowl of cereal, then layed in bed and went online until other people were getting up. I went downstairs and had a couple donuts, then my mom called and i talked to her for (i kid you not) over an hour. Then I joined the others out at the pool for most of the day. Rick and Jen came over and dropped Nathan off for the day while they went golfing. Then Bill came over as well. Us kids came in around 4, and after drying off and changing, we had dinner. Following that, I fell asleep in front of the TV until everyone started doing fireworks. I went out to join them for that, then came back inside and was wide awake, so I played Wii Mario with Katie, Shannon, Ben, and Kayla. They were all tired and went to bed, so I've been sitting on my computer putting pictures from my trip on facebook and stuff. Yeah, fun times. Tomorrow my family is coming and we're going to Wisconson.
Peace out.
miranda
Friday, July 1, 2011
Day thirty/thirty-one/thirty-two- Roclincourt/Airplane/Minnesota
The last few days have been really busy, and I didn't get around to updating but I will fill you in now. Get comfortable, because this will be a lengthy read. Lol.
Wednesday: I slept in a little, getting up around 10ish to get ready for the day. Then I packed and around noon, went with Francoise to the train station to get my tickets for Thursday. The lady at the desk said I only had to make one reservation and it would be the stretch from Lille to Brussels. Other than that, I could just hop on and use my Eurail pass alone. Then we went to pick Pierre up from work and had lunch back at home. I packed a little more, then spent time watching TV with Pierre. Annick came to get me around 3, and the two of us went back to her place so I could upload pictures from the airplane thing and then from England onto my computer. After that, Annick got her nail polish out and I painted my finger and toe nails. She has some really nice stuff, jeez! My toes were painted a shiney brown by Dior and my fingers are a teal from YSL. I felt like a queen wearing both those at once :P Then we went into town for a bit so she could "get a few things." Turns out, she brought me to a perfume shop and had me pick out a perfume. I felt bad about her spending so much money on me, so I tried not to give away which perfume was my favorite, but alas, I was not about to win the battle, so we narrowed it down to a Chanel Chance and a Dior Cherie. I honestly liked both of them a lot, but the Chanel was an "eau de toilette" (which i think is more like a body spray) rather than a perfume, so Annick suggested we go with the Dior (which I was more than okay with!). But it didn't end with that. Annick had me pick out a nail polish as well, and I had to get a "good" one, which meant it had to be a designer name as well. This time, we went with a purple Chanel color. The lady who was helping us was really friendly. Annick gave the shpeal about who i was and how i stayed with the family for a semester and the lady threw a bunch of free sample things into the bag, including various perfumes, a secret notes jar, and a YSL mascara. I felt like such a spoiled girl! lol! I insisted it was not necessary, but she told me it was my "going away gift" from her and Francoise (as if they had to give ME a gift!). It was SOOOOOO nice of them! Ahh :)! I took Annick to a cafe for a drink afterwards, and then we had to get back so we could pick up some groceries for Francoise before Simon and Claire came over with the kids to say goodbye! They were already there when we came to Roclincourt with the food. Annick got right on making supper with Francoise and the rest of us talked and had the apparatif in the veranda. Lou-Marie was sick, so Thomas's family didn't come over, but Romaine called the house and I talked to her and Anne. Fanny also called, so I said goodbye to her and Hugo (who are engaged now! I don't know if I wrote that on here, but it happened last week :D). Marius and Lola made me a gift, which they gave me before we went to eat dinner. It was a rock from Bretagne that resembled a heart, and they put a picture of a girl and a boy on there and each signed their name next to them. Claire forgot to bring my Soffe shorts back that I borrowed to Marius, but oh well.. I will get them next time. lol. Anyway, after showing my bag of goodies from the perfume shop to the rest of the family in attendance, we ate. Pierre-Antoine stopped by during the meal to say bye, and he sat with us for awhile. We had cold lunch meat type ham and other stuff (don't even know what it all was) with baked potatoes, salad, and of course, the baguette! For dessert, I had my last pistachio-chocolate ice cream cone. I overate by a lot, but I figured since it was my last night, I had to cram in as much as possible. Pierre-Antoine left, then Simon and Claire took the kids home, and I spent a little time with Pierre in front of the TV. Then I said goodbye to him since he wouldn't be up when I left in the morning. After that, I went up to finish packing my suitcase. I had Vi and Lisa's stuff thrown in a shopping bag so I could carry it to the airport and then they could fit it in their own suitcases since mine was stuffed.
Thursday: At 5AM, my alarm went off and I was up getting my shit together. We left for the train station at 5.40, and Annick met us there. We talked and hugged and Annick took pictures and gave me a French flag. The train pulled away at 6.09, and an hour later I was in Lille. It was hard leaving again, but since we have something planned for next summer, it made the departure a little easier. I didn't cry, but I came close. I seriously love that family and respect and admire them so much. It is unbelievable how caring, selfless, and accomodating they are. Especially Francoise. I can't say enough good things, but if I grew up to be just like her, I would be very pleased. Anyway, I had to change train stations in Lille, but thankfully it's nothing like Paris, just a short walk down the road. The next train I caught was to Brussels-Midi. That train station is so confusing. I really dislike the small departures board. It is very difficult to tell where you need to go and what train each one is. I found what I thought was the right platform and waited for the train. I headed down to the second half, since that's where the second class seemed to be, however when I got down there, they told me that this half of the train was not going on to Amsterdam. Another girl had made the same mistake, so I follwed her through the crowd and we ran down past all the first class again to the other half, where the second class was. We barely caught the train; the whistle was blowing as we jumped in, and I was completely out of breath. After putting my suitcase and backpack down, I sat on a fold-down seat by the door. There was a ticket lady in there with me and she asked me if i needed help finding my seat. "Oh shit" I thought to myself. I didn't have a reservation. The lady in Arras had told me I didn't need one for the train from Brussels to Amsterdam. Unfortunately, that was another train leaving at the same time and not the one I jumped on. Luckily the lady was nice about it. She told me I could either pay the $60 fee & fine and stay on the train, or get off at the next station and catch another train. Since I had to meet Vi and Lisa, plus catch the airplane, I told her I would pay and stay on so I'd arrive at 10:30 as planned..but then she walked away. At the next stop, crowds gathered around me since I sat between them and the door. I gathered my stuff and stepped off the train to let everyone out. There was a ticket lady outside, so I talked to her and she told me there would be another train going to Amsterdam that I didn't need a reservation for coming through that station (which turned out to be Antwerpen Centraal) in 20 mins. Then she jumped back on the train and it started moving, so I was stuck waiting. It really stressed me out. I tried to get ahold of my host mom to let her know what happened in case Vi or Lisa couldn't get ahold of me and tried the house, but my reception was 0. The train came at 10.00 and I didn't get to Amsterdam until 11.45ish, which was an hour after I was supposed to meet Lisa and Vi. I looked all over for them, and scanned the area in front of the check-in place where we agreed to meet several times. I realized how large the airport was and how I would never be able to search it all, so I had a lady page them on the loudspeaker for me. It requested they go to the nearest information booth so I could locate them. I waited 15 mins, then the lady at the desk told me to go check in my suitcase and come back afterwards to check. I checked the suitcase and the backpack, and managed to somehow fit all of Lisa and Vi's shit in my backpack after taking my laptop out to put in my messenger bag. The lady told me she wouldn't charge me for the backpack since the flight was really full and she was worried about cabin space, so that was nice. Then I asked her if Vi had already checked in, and she had indeed already done so. Awesome, I thought. I spent alost an hour trying to locate them, and they'd already gone to the gate. Thankfully, security didn't take me long at all to go through, and as I was walking to the gate, Lisa spotted me from a store and I finally found her and Vi. They had been in the bathroom during the call on the loudspeaker, and Lisa missed it and Vi only caught "Miranda" "Mai" "Lisa" and "Information booth," but I guess she didn't think it was important enough to tell Lisa, so she ignored it (thanks, vi...). Whatever, thankfully we found each other and their shit fit in my suitcase/backpack. We went to our terminal and sat there, talking about our trips and sharing photos as we waited.
I'll finish tomorrow... I'm falling asleep as I type this. Haha. Damn jet lag.
-miranda
Okay, so anyway, we got on the plane and had a layover in Reykjiovic(?), Iceland again. I had a sandwich and a tropical fanta for lunch, then we got on board for the 7 hour trip to Minneapolis. I watched both The King's Speech and the Black Swan, but I liked the first one better. Black Swan really creeped me out, to be honest. Lol. Then I sorta slept on and off for the last hour of the trip. When we got back to the States, we went through customs and then I gave Lisa and Vi back their crap. After that, they took a train or a taxi or something to the bus station and caught a bus to Fargo, and I got on the shuttle back to St. Cloud where Katie and my grandma picked me up at 9ish. I managed to stay up til 10.30 that night, which is unbelievable considering I'd been traveling for about 23 hours! Anyway, after Shannon came home from work, I pretty much went straight up to bed.
Friday: I got up at 5AM and couldn't fall back to sleep, so I got up and watched the news three times. Lol. Then the others got up and at 11, we went out to the pool, where we spent the entire afternoon. When we came in for lunch, I went up and called my host mom, which was around 9.30 their time, to let her know that I made it back okay. Annick was there too, so I talked to her as well, and Pierre, too, of course :) Then I called my mom since my grandma insisted, and after that, I went back out to the pool. My dad called not long after, so I talked to him as well. Then I relaxed in the steamy 96 degree weather in the pool with Katie and Shannon. At 4, the sun went behind the clouds and it looked a little chilly, so we got out, and about 20 mins later, it was grey and dark out and the wind was blowing the trees at almost 90 degree angles! The rain came shortly after, and we were in a severe thunderstorm warning all night, with a tornado warning following later as well. Shannon and Katie made puppy chow while i went online, and then Ben and Kayla arrived. We sat around talking for awhile, then at 9, I went up to bed, exhausted. Lol. This morning I woke up at 6.15, and I'm not sure what I'll be doing today, but it's supposed to be nice out again--in the 80s--so maybe some more pool time? I'll let you know!
-miranda
Wednesday: I slept in a little, getting up around 10ish to get ready for the day. Then I packed and around noon, went with Francoise to the train station to get my tickets for Thursday. The lady at the desk said I only had to make one reservation and it would be the stretch from Lille to Brussels. Other than that, I could just hop on and use my Eurail pass alone. Then we went to pick Pierre up from work and had lunch back at home. I packed a little more, then spent time watching TV with Pierre. Annick came to get me around 3, and the two of us went back to her place so I could upload pictures from the airplane thing and then from England onto my computer. After that, Annick got her nail polish out and I painted my finger and toe nails. She has some really nice stuff, jeez! My toes were painted a shiney brown by Dior and my fingers are a teal from YSL. I felt like a queen wearing both those at once :P Then we went into town for a bit so she could "get a few things." Turns out, she brought me to a perfume shop and had me pick out a perfume. I felt bad about her spending so much money on me, so I tried not to give away which perfume was my favorite, but alas, I was not about to win the battle, so we narrowed it down to a Chanel Chance and a Dior Cherie. I honestly liked both of them a lot, but the Chanel was an "eau de toilette" (which i think is more like a body spray) rather than a perfume, so Annick suggested we go with the Dior (which I was more than okay with!). But it didn't end with that. Annick had me pick out a nail polish as well, and I had to get a "good" one, which meant it had to be a designer name as well. This time, we went with a purple Chanel color. The lady who was helping us was really friendly. Annick gave the shpeal about who i was and how i stayed with the family for a semester and the lady threw a bunch of free sample things into the bag, including various perfumes, a secret notes jar, and a YSL mascara. I felt like such a spoiled girl! lol! I insisted it was not necessary, but she told me it was my "going away gift" from her and Francoise (as if they had to give ME a gift!). It was SOOOOOO nice of them! Ahh :)! I took Annick to a cafe for a drink afterwards, and then we had to get back so we could pick up some groceries for Francoise before Simon and Claire came over with the kids to say goodbye! They were already there when we came to Roclincourt with the food. Annick got right on making supper with Francoise and the rest of us talked and had the apparatif in the veranda. Lou-Marie was sick, so Thomas's family didn't come over, but Romaine called the house and I talked to her and Anne. Fanny also called, so I said goodbye to her and Hugo (who are engaged now! I don't know if I wrote that on here, but it happened last week :D). Marius and Lola made me a gift, which they gave me before we went to eat dinner. It was a rock from Bretagne that resembled a heart, and they put a picture of a girl and a boy on there and each signed their name next to them. Claire forgot to bring my Soffe shorts back that I borrowed to Marius, but oh well.. I will get them next time. lol. Anyway, after showing my bag of goodies from the perfume shop to the rest of the family in attendance, we ate. Pierre-Antoine stopped by during the meal to say bye, and he sat with us for awhile. We had cold lunch meat type ham and other stuff (don't even know what it all was) with baked potatoes, salad, and of course, the baguette! For dessert, I had my last pistachio-chocolate ice cream cone. I overate by a lot, but I figured since it was my last night, I had to cram in as much as possible. Pierre-Antoine left, then Simon and Claire took the kids home, and I spent a little time with Pierre in front of the TV. Then I said goodbye to him since he wouldn't be up when I left in the morning. After that, I went up to finish packing my suitcase. I had Vi and Lisa's stuff thrown in a shopping bag so I could carry it to the airport and then they could fit it in their own suitcases since mine was stuffed.
Thursday: At 5AM, my alarm went off and I was up getting my shit together. We left for the train station at 5.40, and Annick met us there. We talked and hugged and Annick took pictures and gave me a French flag. The train pulled away at 6.09, and an hour later I was in Lille. It was hard leaving again, but since we have something planned for next summer, it made the departure a little easier. I didn't cry, but I came close. I seriously love that family and respect and admire them so much. It is unbelievable how caring, selfless, and accomodating they are. Especially Francoise. I can't say enough good things, but if I grew up to be just like her, I would be very pleased. Anyway, I had to change train stations in Lille, but thankfully it's nothing like Paris, just a short walk down the road. The next train I caught was to Brussels-Midi. That train station is so confusing. I really dislike the small departures board. It is very difficult to tell where you need to go and what train each one is. I found what I thought was the right platform and waited for the train. I headed down to the second half, since that's where the second class seemed to be, however when I got down there, they told me that this half of the train was not going on to Amsterdam. Another girl had made the same mistake, so I follwed her through the crowd and we ran down past all the first class again to the other half, where the second class was. We barely caught the train; the whistle was blowing as we jumped in, and I was completely out of breath. After putting my suitcase and backpack down, I sat on a fold-down seat by the door. There was a ticket lady in there with me and she asked me if i needed help finding my seat. "Oh shit" I thought to myself. I didn't have a reservation. The lady in Arras had told me I didn't need one for the train from Brussels to Amsterdam. Unfortunately, that was another train leaving at the same time and not the one I jumped on. Luckily the lady was nice about it. She told me I could either pay the $60 fee & fine and stay on the train, or get off at the next station and catch another train. Since I had to meet Vi and Lisa, plus catch the airplane, I told her I would pay and stay on so I'd arrive at 10:30 as planned..but then she walked away. At the next stop, crowds gathered around me since I sat between them and the door. I gathered my stuff and stepped off the train to let everyone out. There was a ticket lady outside, so I talked to her and she told me there would be another train going to Amsterdam that I didn't need a reservation for coming through that station (which turned out to be Antwerpen Centraal) in 20 mins. Then she jumped back on the train and it started moving, so I was stuck waiting. It really stressed me out. I tried to get ahold of my host mom to let her know what happened in case Vi or Lisa couldn't get ahold of me and tried the house, but my reception was 0. The train came at 10.00 and I didn't get to Amsterdam until 11.45ish, which was an hour after I was supposed to meet Lisa and Vi. I looked all over for them, and scanned the area in front of the check-in place where we agreed to meet several times. I realized how large the airport was and how I would never be able to search it all, so I had a lady page them on the loudspeaker for me. It requested they go to the nearest information booth so I could locate them. I waited 15 mins, then the lady at the desk told me to go check in my suitcase and come back afterwards to check. I checked the suitcase and the backpack, and managed to somehow fit all of Lisa and Vi's shit in my backpack after taking my laptop out to put in my messenger bag. The lady told me she wouldn't charge me for the backpack since the flight was really full and she was worried about cabin space, so that was nice. Then I asked her if Vi had already checked in, and she had indeed already done so. Awesome, I thought. I spent alost an hour trying to locate them, and they'd already gone to the gate. Thankfully, security didn't take me long at all to go through, and as I was walking to the gate, Lisa spotted me from a store and I finally found her and Vi. They had been in the bathroom during the call on the loudspeaker, and Lisa missed it and Vi only caught "Miranda" "Mai" "Lisa" and "Information booth," but I guess she didn't think it was important enough to tell Lisa, so she ignored it (thanks, vi...). Whatever, thankfully we found each other and their shit fit in my suitcase/backpack. We went to our terminal and sat there, talking about our trips and sharing photos as we waited.
I'll finish tomorrow... I'm falling asleep as I type this. Haha. Damn jet lag.
-miranda
Okay, so anyway, we got on the plane and had a layover in Reykjiovic(?), Iceland again. I had a sandwich and a tropical fanta for lunch, then we got on board for the 7 hour trip to Minneapolis. I watched both The King's Speech and the Black Swan, but I liked the first one better. Black Swan really creeped me out, to be honest. Lol. Then I sorta slept on and off for the last hour of the trip. When we got back to the States, we went through customs and then I gave Lisa and Vi back their crap. After that, they took a train or a taxi or something to the bus station and caught a bus to Fargo, and I got on the shuttle back to St. Cloud where Katie and my grandma picked me up at 9ish. I managed to stay up til 10.30 that night, which is unbelievable considering I'd been traveling for about 23 hours! Anyway, after Shannon came home from work, I pretty much went straight up to bed.
Friday: I got up at 5AM and couldn't fall back to sleep, so I got up and watched the news three times. Lol. Then the others got up and at 11, we went out to the pool, where we spent the entire afternoon. When we came in for lunch, I went up and called my host mom, which was around 9.30 their time, to let her know that I made it back okay. Annick was there too, so I talked to her as well, and Pierre, too, of course :) Then I called my mom since my grandma insisted, and after that, I went back out to the pool. My dad called not long after, so I talked to him as well. Then I relaxed in the steamy 96 degree weather in the pool with Katie and Shannon. At 4, the sun went behind the clouds and it looked a little chilly, so we got out, and about 20 mins later, it was grey and dark out and the wind was blowing the trees at almost 90 degree angles! The rain came shortly after, and we were in a severe thunderstorm warning all night, with a tornado warning following later as well. Shannon and Katie made puppy chow while i went online, and then Ben and Kayla arrived. We sat around talking for awhile, then at 9, I went up to bed, exhausted. Lol. This morning I woke up at 6.15, and I'm not sure what I'll be doing today, but it's supposed to be nice out again--in the 80s--so maybe some more pool time? I'll let you know!
-miranda
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Day twenty-nine -Roclincourt
Bonjour tout le monde !
This morning, I woke up before my alarm clock around 8:15 because of all the noise the cars made outside the window. I caught Cedric just before he left to say goodbye, then I got ready and had breakfast with Annick. Annick braided my hair afterwards, and then Francoise came at 9.15ish. We hung out for a bit, and then went to the docks to catch the ferry to England. It took awhile to get through customs and everything, and Annick didn't see the lady at the UK window, so after French customs she sped off, and the lady yelled after her. Lol. Francoise and Annick made it through just fine, and I did too, but not before the lady asked me a hundred questions about where i was going, what my relationship was to these french people, if i had a job in the states, etc. It seemed a bit excessive, but whatever, thankfully I made it across the boarder. We drove onto the boat and then got out of the car and went up to the top so we could sit outside. It was nice out, and the sun warmed us up as we sailed away from Calais and onward to Dover. In Dover, we drove off the boat and Annick followed the cars in front of us to get a feel for driving on the opposite side of the road. She didn't understand the English all over the road signs, so that's where I came in! haha. We found the downtown area and parked a little ways away. Then walked around downtown Dover. We visited a church and wandered around a lot. We found a spot to eat lunch called C'est La Vie and we all ordered a sandwich and I got Dr. Pepper to drink! Wooo :) They don't have it in France, so I took advantage of the opportunity when I saw the bottle in the cooler. England is expensive we found out quickly, since the pound is stronger than the euro, and about twice as strong as the dollar. We went shopping after we ate, but didn't buy anything due to the poor exchange rate. Our parking meter ran out at 1.45, so we moved the car and drove up to the castle. It took us awhile to find the parking lot, since we missed it the first time and had to turn around to find it again, but we found it eventually. It cost 16 pounds per person, or about 32 dollars, to visit the castle, but my Frechies understood it to mean that it only cost money if we went INTO the castle, so we skipped the ticket booth and just walked in. Everyone had stickers except for us, but it started raining so once everyone had jackets on you couldn't tell anyway. Haha. When it got really bad, we went back to the car and waited out the storm. It didn't last too long thankfully, and we went back into the castle. The view of the city below was beautiful. We went to the restaurant to get a cup of tea/hot chocolate and then walked around until about 5, when we left for the return to France. This time, the road was more difficult to find, but once we did, it didn't take long to get through customs. The Frech patrol saw the French license plate and didn't even notice my American passport when Francoise opened the window. He just waved us on, which was nice. We had some time when we got to our spot in line, so Annick and I got out and took pictures and went into the little mall and I got magazines and Annick got a coffee for Francoise. Then we drove onto the ferry and headed back. This boat wasn't as nice as the one we'd taken on the way over; you could tell it was much older. We used some of the remaining Pounds we had to gamble on the ship, but after losing 5 or 6 pounds, we quit and just exchanged the money back for euros. Lol. We wandered around the ship awhile, looking at the perfume shop and stuff, then found a place to sit for the remaineder of the voyage. It wasn't as nice out this time, so we stayed inside for the most part. When we got back to Calais, we were one of the first cars out of the boat! We stopped by Elodie's place, got our overnight bags, said goodbye to Elodie, and then Annick dropped Francoise and I off at the town hall parkinglot, where Francoise's car was parked and we drove home, discussing my family and then French politics a little bit on the way. Pierre was there waiting for us with one of the neighbors who had been watching him. After a brief conversation she left, and we had omlettes for supper. Francoise bought me chocolate-pistachio ice cream cones, so I took one of those for dessert. :) Now I'm up in my room, looking at all my stuff sprawled out on the floor and wondering how it's all going to fit in my suitcase. I'll have to pack tomorrow and hopefully it will all fit okay!! Wish me luck!
a demain
miranda
This morning, I woke up before my alarm clock around 8:15 because of all the noise the cars made outside the window. I caught Cedric just before he left to say goodbye, then I got ready and had breakfast with Annick. Annick braided my hair afterwards, and then Francoise came at 9.15ish. We hung out for a bit, and then went to the docks to catch the ferry to England. It took awhile to get through customs and everything, and Annick didn't see the lady at the UK window, so after French customs she sped off, and the lady yelled after her. Lol. Francoise and Annick made it through just fine, and I did too, but not before the lady asked me a hundred questions about where i was going, what my relationship was to these french people, if i had a job in the states, etc. It seemed a bit excessive, but whatever, thankfully I made it across the boarder. We drove onto the boat and then got out of the car and went up to the top so we could sit outside. It was nice out, and the sun warmed us up as we sailed away from Calais and onward to Dover. In Dover, we drove off the boat and Annick followed the cars in front of us to get a feel for driving on the opposite side of the road. She didn't understand the English all over the road signs, so that's where I came in! haha. We found the downtown area and parked a little ways away. Then walked around downtown Dover. We visited a church and wandered around a lot. We found a spot to eat lunch called C'est La Vie and we all ordered a sandwich and I got Dr. Pepper to drink! Wooo :) They don't have it in France, so I took advantage of the opportunity when I saw the bottle in the cooler. England is expensive we found out quickly, since the pound is stronger than the euro, and about twice as strong as the dollar. We went shopping after we ate, but didn't buy anything due to the poor exchange rate. Our parking meter ran out at 1.45, so we moved the car and drove up to the castle. It took us awhile to find the parking lot, since we missed it the first time and had to turn around to find it again, but we found it eventually. It cost 16 pounds per person, or about 32 dollars, to visit the castle, but my Frechies understood it to mean that it only cost money if we went INTO the castle, so we skipped the ticket booth and just walked in. Everyone had stickers except for us, but it started raining so once everyone had jackets on you couldn't tell anyway. Haha. When it got really bad, we went back to the car and waited out the storm. It didn't last too long thankfully, and we went back into the castle. The view of the city below was beautiful. We went to the restaurant to get a cup of tea/hot chocolate and then walked around until about 5, when we left for the return to France. This time, the road was more difficult to find, but once we did, it didn't take long to get through customs. The Frech patrol saw the French license plate and didn't even notice my American passport when Francoise opened the window. He just waved us on, which was nice. We had some time when we got to our spot in line, so Annick and I got out and took pictures and went into the little mall and I got magazines and Annick got a coffee for Francoise. Then we drove onto the ferry and headed back. This boat wasn't as nice as the one we'd taken on the way over; you could tell it was much older. We used some of the remaining Pounds we had to gamble on the ship, but after losing 5 or 6 pounds, we quit and just exchanged the money back for euros. Lol. We wandered around the ship awhile, looking at the perfume shop and stuff, then found a place to sit for the remaineder of the voyage. It wasn't as nice out this time, so we stayed inside for the most part. When we got back to Calais, we were one of the first cars out of the boat! We stopped by Elodie's place, got our overnight bags, said goodbye to Elodie, and then Annick dropped Francoise and I off at the town hall parkinglot, where Francoise's car was parked and we drove home, discussing my family and then French politics a little bit on the way. Pierre was there waiting for us with one of the neighbors who had been watching him. After a brief conversation she left, and we had omlettes for supper. Francoise bought me chocolate-pistachio ice cream cones, so I took one of those for dessert. :) Now I'm up in my room, looking at all my stuff sprawled out on the floor and wondering how it's all going to fit in my suitcase. I'll have to pack tomorrow and hopefully it will all fit okay!! Wish me luck!
a demain
miranda
Monday, June 27, 2011
Day twenty-eight -Calais
I got up today around 8.45 and got ready to go to Calais! Annick came to get me at 10, and the two of us drove up to the sea. We got there around 11.30 and decided to go eat at a restaurant before going to the beach. We went to a place called La Mer, where Annick had mussels and I had chicken, and for dessert I had, of course, pistachio ice cream and strawberry sorbet. After we ate, we walked around for a little bit and stopped by a ferry company shop to check out prices for the ferry to England tomorrow. We found out it is much cheaper to take a car across than it is to go as a pedestrian without a car. I would have thought it would be the opposite, but whatever. Needless to say, we are taking Annick's car and we will drive in England. Hahaha. That'll be interesting. After that, we went to the edge of Calais and found ourselves a nice spot on the beach, where we spent the rest of the afternoon. The beach was nice and warm, with a cool breeze to keep us from getting too hot, but it was much dirtier than the one down south in Port-La-Nouvelle. The water was also much too cold for swimming, although I enjoyed laying in the sun, reading my French Cosmo lol. Anne Tartar joined us around 4 after she got off work, and then her parents came by a little later as well. At about 6.30, we left the beach and headed to Elodie and Cedric's house in Calais, where Annick and I are spending the night. We talked for awhile, then I showered and afterwards, Annick and I went online and reserved our tickets for the ferry tomorrow. Then we had the apparatif, and Cedric BBQ'd dinner. For dessert, he made chocolate mousse, which was wonderful. It had cooled off quite a bit by that time, so we sat outside and talked for a little longer before getting ready for bed. Tomorrow, Francoise will join us after she drops Pierre off at work and we're taking the ferry at 10.30! Sooo excited :D I'll let you know how that goes tomorrow!
bisous
miranda
bisous
miranda
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Day twenty-seven -Roclincourt
Bonjour !
This morning I woke up early (around 8.30 lol) and went to Annick's just before 10 to hit up the "sidewalk sales" that the stores were having in Arras. We ended up not having much time, but after we went to the train station to check trains for tomorrow, we browsed the pedestrian road. I saw Valentine from my class at Gambetta selling stuff at the bakery, so I bought 3 petit pain au chcolat. At RougeGorges, I found not one, but TWO swimsuits :D Woooh :) I've been searching since April for a good one! One of them was on sale 50% off and the other one wasn't, but it wasn't too expensive so I bought it anyway! Then we picked up Brigitte and stopped by grandma's house to fix her lunch. After that, we went to the Aerodrome in Roclincourt! Brigitte and I flew airplanes (with a pilot alongside us of course)! She went first, flying a small airplane with a helicopter-looking body, but normal wings. Then I flew a small, shell airplane.. I don't know exactly what it's called, but there isn't a windshield and stuff, it's all open. There are just wings and some poles and then two seats and a small engine and propeler. Since it gets really windy up high, I had to put on a suit and then a helmet, and I sorta looked like an astronaut haha. It was awesome though! I saw Roclincourt, the house, Mt. St. Eloi in the distance, and then we saw some of Arras, including the two Places and the Beffroi and all. It was sweet! The gusts of wind scared me a little because the plane tipped, since it's so light, but thankfully nothing went wrong and I lived! lol. Afterwards, we went to Thomas's kids' school's open house. We got there sort of late, but we found everyone else and ate, then watched the kids' performance. Brigitte and I left with Pierre and Annick right after the performances because it was really hot, and Pierre wasn't feeling well, so Annick brought him home. Then I relaxed for about an hour before Pierre-Antoine stopped by to see if I wanted to play bocce ball. Simon was at the Aerodrome with Helene flying, but he and his dad, Christophe, came to join us afterwards. Simon and I were on a team and then Pierre-Antoine and Christophe were on the other. They won 2 games, we won 1, but they were good games.. it was fun, although really hot! Afterwards, Christophe drove all of us back to his house for a drink. Arlette and Helene were there, so we all talked awhile and I went back home around 9.30. I had a quick supper (Pierre and Francoise already ate), then Simon stopped by to get me to go on a walk. Pierre-Antoine had homework since he's still in school, then Helene wasn't feeling too well, so it was just me and Simon! We walked through the fields, past the aerodrome, then he thought there was a path that led back to the road, but we couldn't find it, so we had to walk through the long grass to the runway, then followed that to the road. It wouldn't have been so bad except there were giant buzzing bugs flying all over the place and landing in my hair and on Simon and it was so gross! I hate bugs! Other than that, it was a nice walk though. We talked and the sun set, and the sky was nice and pretty! We followed the road back, and then I went home so I could pack and skype mick before it got too late. As it is, it's almost 12.30, and I have to get up sort of early once again to go to Calais tomorrow! Woooo :) It better not rain like they're predicting! It was supposed to be really nice through Wednesday! Grr. Oh well, we'll just hope for the best! I'll write again from Calais tomorrow.
a demain
miranda
This morning I woke up early (around 8.30 lol) and went to Annick's just before 10 to hit up the "sidewalk sales" that the stores were having in Arras. We ended up not having much time, but after we went to the train station to check trains for tomorrow, we browsed the pedestrian road. I saw Valentine from my class at Gambetta selling stuff at the bakery, so I bought 3 petit pain au chcolat. At RougeGorges, I found not one, but TWO swimsuits :D Woooh :) I've been searching since April for a good one! One of them was on sale 50% off and the other one wasn't, but it wasn't too expensive so I bought it anyway! Then we picked up Brigitte and stopped by grandma's house to fix her lunch. After that, we went to the Aerodrome in Roclincourt! Brigitte and I flew airplanes (with a pilot alongside us of course)! She went first, flying a small airplane with a helicopter-looking body, but normal wings. Then I flew a small, shell airplane.. I don't know exactly what it's called, but there isn't a windshield and stuff, it's all open. There are just wings and some poles and then two seats and a small engine and propeler. Since it gets really windy up high, I had to put on a suit and then a helmet, and I sorta looked like an astronaut haha. It was awesome though! I saw Roclincourt, the house, Mt. St. Eloi in the distance, and then we saw some of Arras, including the two Places and the Beffroi and all. It was sweet! The gusts of wind scared me a little because the plane tipped, since it's so light, but thankfully nothing went wrong and I lived! lol. Afterwards, we went to Thomas's kids' school's open house. We got there sort of late, but we found everyone else and ate, then watched the kids' performance. Brigitte and I left with Pierre and Annick right after the performances because it was really hot, and Pierre wasn't feeling well, so Annick brought him home. Then I relaxed for about an hour before Pierre-Antoine stopped by to see if I wanted to play bocce ball. Simon was at the Aerodrome with Helene flying, but he and his dad, Christophe, came to join us afterwards. Simon and I were on a team and then Pierre-Antoine and Christophe were on the other. They won 2 games, we won 1, but they were good games.. it was fun, although really hot! Afterwards, Christophe drove all of us back to his house for a drink. Arlette and Helene were there, so we all talked awhile and I went back home around 9.30. I had a quick supper (Pierre and Francoise already ate), then Simon stopped by to get me to go on a walk. Pierre-Antoine had homework since he's still in school, then Helene wasn't feeling too well, so it was just me and Simon! We walked through the fields, past the aerodrome, then he thought there was a path that led back to the road, but we couldn't find it, so we had to walk through the long grass to the runway, then followed that to the road. It wouldn't have been so bad except there were giant buzzing bugs flying all over the place and landing in my hair and on Simon and it was so gross! I hate bugs! Other than that, it was a nice walk though. We talked and the sun set, and the sky was nice and pretty! We followed the road back, and then I went home so I could pack and skype mick before it got too late. As it is, it's almost 12.30, and I have to get up sort of early once again to go to Calais tomorrow! Woooo :) It better not rain like they're predicting! It was supposed to be really nice through Wednesday! Grr. Oh well, we'll just hope for the best! I'll write again from Calais tomorrow.
a demain
miranda
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