The Libertine, the American and a Secret Show

My trip back to TX flew by as I revisited old stomping grounds, caught up with good friends, and my #1 priority getting in the QT with my family.

Wednesday (sept 3) I met up with my favorite Sara (no H) Blackard and her hubby Beau to get my first heaping dose of Tex Mex since returning at Chuys. Afterwards, over some miller lites and shiner bocks, we gabbed about all the changes since we last saw each other 3 months ago including one particular scandal involving an unreturned heating unit. This brought up a lengthy discussion of etiquette when borrowing and lending things between friends. It's interesting when you loan a friend and item and they never return it, and eventually the item's value becomes irrelevant and you begin arguing with the pal solely on principle. Then when all is said and done 7 months later, you've got your $100 heating unit back just in time for fall weather, you're minus one disrespectful friend and feeling like you've won a battle.

Thursday I met up with 5 of my former co-workers for lunch and it was so great to feel like time hadn't passed between us. It was all the fun of being at the job without the hassle. Then I headed downtown to pickup my official passport from the federal building and then on the road to Dallass with my dad and dog. Friday I reaquainted myself with the Dallas shopping scene and just in time for the labor day sales. After shopping in France and Spain, it's good to get back to some familiar stores again.

Saturday we joined up for lunch with our good friends True and Elizabeth, and their niece also named Elizabeth, at my friend Dana's bar The Libertine on lower Greenville Avenue. We had no idea that her food was awarded best bar food in Dallas and the menu was better than most pricier establishments I've been to. We munched on Pork Wings which were phenomenal, the house mediterranean plate, and amazing onion rings just to start. I had a medium-rare tuna sandwhich with sweet potato fries and it was mind-blowing! We had a 3 o'clock movie time to see The American with George Clooney. Our opinions were all the same, booooring! We paid $12 each to see what George Clooney does behind closed doors with his Italian girlfriend. Maybe the Tea Party can do something about this. The good news is I got a text from Dana while I was in the movie inviting me to go see the Old 97s that night. They just happen to be my favorite band and I was really surprised because I checked their show schedule before coming out and there wasn't any Dallas dates. Come to find out my friend Dana, who I've know since I was 8, failed to tell me that she's know the band personally for a long time now and this is a party for the lead singer Rhett´s birthday. Not to mention it´s going to be at my old hangout called the Green Elephant which is now called The Barley House. Anyways, we found ourselves standing next to the stage with only about 50 other people and the band rocked both old favorites and great new songs soon to be released!
Here we are...









Now I´m back in BCN super jet-lagged still after two days and taking off for Lyon tomorrow. This week I hope to get back to my french courses and start up salsa dancing classes with my friends.

The summer is winding down, two and half days of my vacation remain

who cares?

Barçe got rid of Ibrahimovic, and sold him to Milan.

LT is going to the Jets. 

Neither player has been particularly impressive lately. 

However it looks like unfortunately Piqué will be missing Zlatan just a bit. 

http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/dirty-tackle/post/Ibrahimovic-offers-to-prove-his-sexuality-with-r?urn=sow-239550

Roger´s Aunt turned 90

..and this is what she she told us about 90 years of living in Catalunya:

¨I´ve lived through a civil-war 

a world-war

 a post-war

 a dictatorship

 and finally a democracy. 

I remember running through the streets as a little girl, dodging bombs.¨

then she asked for some birthday cake and champagne.

I italicized my favorites

45 Best Maya Angelou Quotes


1.If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die.
2.Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at it destination full of hope.
3.If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don’t be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning ‘Good morning’ at total strangers. – Maya Angelou
4.If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.
5.Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time.
6.The honorary duty of a human being is to love.
7.Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage. –
8.I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.
9.My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return.
10.One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest. – Maya Angelou
11.The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.
12.The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.
13.Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
14.I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.
15.I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. – Maya Angelou
16.Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.
17.My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.
18.You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you. All the other tangible rewards will come as a result.
19.A woman’s heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.
20.I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
21.Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud. – Maya Angelou (Letter to My Daughter)
22.We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
23.You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.
24.Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.
25.The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise
26.Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.
27.You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise!
28.I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.
29.Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.
30.I sustain myself with the love of family.
31.I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. Maya Angelou
32.A Woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself and only herself.
33.The ship of my life may or may not be sailing on calm and amiable seas. The challenging days of my existence may or may not be bright and promising. Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude. If I insist on being pessimistic, there is always tomorrow. Today I am blessed.
34.The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don’t know my story…
35.A woman who is convinced that she deserves to accept only the best, challenges herself to give the best. Then she is living phenomenally.
36.The sisters and brothers that you meet give you the materials which your character uses to build itself. It is said that some people are born great, others achieve it, some have it thrust upon them. In truth, the ways in which your character is built have to do with all three of those. Those around you, those you choose, and those who choose you. – Maya Angelou
37.Living well is an art that can be developed: a love of life and ability to take great pleasure from small offerings and assurance that the world owes you nothing and that every gift is exactly that, a gift.
38.Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.
39.You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
40.We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable. It would be wise to use that time adoring our families, cherishing our friends and living our lives.
41.When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.
42.This is my life. It is my one time to be me. I want to experience every good thing.
43.I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.
44.We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.
45.You rose into my life like a promised sunrise, brightening my days with the light in your eyes. I’ve never been so strong. Now I’m where I belong.

Some photos from our last night in Menorca.

come along for the ride

I´m a gypsy and so is Shakira evidently.
She´s been filming a new video for her song Vixen here in Barcelona but she stayed for more than two months. Rumor is she and Piqué have been doing the waka waka. (See the video from the World Cup blog).



In the meantime here´s some waka waka with Rafael Nadal.



and one of my favorites-

Barça

Got last minute tickets to the Super Copa tonight and made it in time to watch this exciting game between the Spanish League Champions and the King´s Cup Champions (Sevilla).  This was a two match competition and Barça entered the ring tonight the underdog having lost in Sevilla last weekend 3 - 1. They would need to win by three goals in order to be victorious.

Camp Nou was filled with tourists and Catalans all wearing the various shades of red, blue, yellow, and  odd neons of Futbol Club Barcelona´s Nike jerseys. The lineup of first half consisted of some of the favorite players I´ve talked about before including Xavi, Messi, Piqué, and Dani Alves. Being the first game since the World Cup, everyone was stoked to see the players back at the home field. The first 45 minutes of play time ended with the home team leading 3-0. The energy was amazing and everyone was singing and chanting, the first-time guests were wide-eyed at the charisma of the team and the fans.
With such a great start, a lot of the pressure was taken off. However, the 2nd chapter was much more tense with the players battling the dry heat and exhaustion. In order to keep the lead at this point it means that every time Sevilla scores, Barça would have to match it to ensure the win. I guess with a break or not feeling as much pressure the game slowed down a lot and Barçca wasn´t dominating like they had in the first half. Soon Iniesta and David Villa, the stars of the Spanish World Cup team were sub´d in and everyone was on their feet cheering. Finally with minutes to spare, Messi scored the 4th goal (his 3rd of the game) to seal the deal.

This is what it´s like being at the game....

Ohh lay lay, oh lala, Ser de Barça es, al millior que hi ha*.
*being from Barcelona is the best that there is.

sleep tonight

Haven´t had time to update a thing lately, the past two weeks have been so busy. I´m Back in Barcelona after a week in the small island of Menorca and three days in Veilla before that. The time spent in the countryside and the ocean was priceless! Especially upon arrival to Menorca, I appreciated the vacation so much more since I didn´t think that we would even be taking the trip after months of planning. Just 14 hours before the flight to Menorca my entire purse was lifted off the back of my chair in a Starbucks in central Barcelona. I heard that the thieves were sly in this tourist city but I had no idea they were that good. I was sitting with two other people on the not-so-crowded second level of the cafe and no one saw a thing. Pretty much immediately after realizing it was gone, the sky fell. I´ll never forget running through the crowded Plaza that night in my soaking wet dress to the police station where I had to sum up all the things that were stolen from me including my passport, ids, a camera, sunglasses, ipod, keys to my house, etc. It ended up being about a $900 frapuccino experience. However, we went to the American consulate the next morning and they issued me a temporary passport book in just about an hour. Talk about a reality check, but at least it all worked out and I got on the plane that afternoon.
On Sunday I will fly once again to Lyon, and return back to Barcelona by next Friday. Then off to the states on the following Monday for 10 days of quality time with family and friends. 
In the meantime, here´s a song I´ve been hearing everywhere that sums up my gypsy traveling ways.

cool video

Arcade Fire will be making their rounds to Europe very soon hitting up Barcelona and Lyon.
They are such an Amazing and Diverse sounding band!
      Below is one of their haunting songs set to a phenomenal spaghetti western called Once Upon a Time in the West. It was directed by Sergio Leone, I remember watching this years ago in college in my Italian cinema class.

 He actually was approached first to direct The Godfather but turned it down. If he hadn't, we may never have heard of Francis Ford Coppola, Coppola wine or his daughter Sophia. Anyhow, Leone was responsible for much of the success of Clint Eastwood having directed him in three western movies. It's interesting to think back to the 60's and how the prevalent the western movies were and how much things have changed.

 Enough rambling, enjoy the mini show and song.

spoiler alert! You might shed a tear.

I & Love & You

The more i listen to this song the more it reminds me of me and the ties i´ve broken, the tracks i´ve jumped and the loved ones that are gone. I think that we can all relate to it at some point but what makes it universal is that we all deal with different types of love in our lives. Maybe it´s hardest sometimes not having the courage to say the three words or it just not being possible, or it being so so hard because you know it could be the last time you will get to say them. The moral of the story is to say them if you can.

>

As the world turns

Last night we went to a Rhumba concert at the summer festival here in Lyon, France called Les Nuits (Nights) de Fourvière. The aura of the evening was absolutely surreal. What makes this concert series so unique is that we are sitting on huge slabs of stone in an old Roman amphitheater that was constructed when they founded Lyon in 15 BC. We are up on the hill above the town and there are no city lights here, just the effects from the stage and the full moon above. The moon quickly passed over us and we could see and feel rotation of the earth through space.

Roger chose this night to go because of the 2nd artist in the lineup named Peret, an iconic musician from Catalonia known for his invention of the guitar technique known as ``fanning``.  His latin groove was absolutely infectious and eventhough he didn´t speak more than 3 words of french everyone there was dancing.
Here´s a silly little song of his and the video from the 70s is just great.

We enjoyed his performance so much and didn´t want him to leave the stage for the rest of the night. We were both a little concerned for whoever would have to follow his act.

However the third and final group had no problems holding their own. The lights came back up and four men in wheelchairs and one on crutches came out on stage along with 3 other band members. I was completely surprised and curious not knowing anything beforehand other than the last band performing was from the Congo. As I´m sitting here writing this I am still struggling for the words to adequately describe how electric, energetic and phenomenal they were. The You Tube recordings do not do them any justice because their voices were so unique as well as the unusual instruments one of the members was playing. Plus one of the men in a wheelchair absolutely rocked the guitar. They are on a tour set to go through October and will finish in Tokyo, pretty inspirational for coming from the streets of Africa and being stricken with Polio.



I recommend checking out their CD Tres Tres Fort and reading more about their struggles they fight to make a name for themselves.
http://crammed.be.dd5126.kasserver.com/index.php?id=34&art_id=146

tumblr

I've started a tumblr account to play around with for awhile.
http://sarahrosewashere.tumblr.com/

Restaurant the beginning

Today at school the director came and taught our oral comprehension class. In france it's not taboo to talk candidly about all the different stereotypes surrounding various nationalities. He did a little Q&A session with us and went around the room asking each of us a couple of get-to-know you conversations going. He asked one Polish student if she was good with pipes because the french think that all Poles are plumbers. I'm not sure she understood what he was saying but I must admit I was a little shocked at his bluntness and this is not the first time one of my professors has crossed this line since I've been here. My turn came, and he said 'Sarah, [everything was in French] you come from America, ummm, why do you hate french?' Seriously? What a loaded question but I tried to be diplomatic with my response, because french is after all the language of diplomats, and said simply that I like french but I find it very challenging to change between english, spanish and french all the time, blah blah blah... I thought about asking him why he asked me that but I figure maybe that's exactly what he wants is to get a rise out of the students or maybe it's part of the French child-like curiosity.

However, they also have a wild sense of humor of themselves and love to hear what outsiders think of them. Besides the typical association of croissants and berets here's a few more stigmas about the French:
•Lazy : people who do not work and demonstrate in the streets (when they are not on strike)


•Cowards : they always surrender, unreliable allies

•Rude, anti-American and ungrateful, people who don't speak English, distant and difficult to meet

•Communists : people who live in a bureaucratic Socialist system and who are totally dependent on the State

•Dirty : people who do not use soap (recently, I received a message : "why do French women use perfume instead of taking a bath?")

•Arrogant and conceited people, always giving lessons to the others

•Not democratic : people who do not respect religous freedom


I think these are not completely accurate but are slightly humorous because the French are just so French and you'd be mad to take them completely serious. I think it's like the child being afraid of a spider and the mom says not to worry because they are more afraid of you. As long as you show you are willing to bend a little, they will too. As soon as you make a valid effort to speak french, more times than not they will respond in the little english they know and it usually ends up being a comical exchange of bad grammar on both parts. Plus I must admit I don't completely disagree with their work ethic: they don't live to work, they work to live. However they do live to eat!

One of the topics the director covered today was how the french believe they invented the restaurant so I've been doing a little research on wikipedia and it seems his statements are valid. Here's what I've found:

"The term restaurant (from the French restaurer, to restore) first appeared in the 16th century, meaning "a food which restores", and referred specifically to a rich, highly flavoured soup. It was first applied to an eating establishment in around 1765 founded by a Parisian soup-seller named Boulanger. The first restaurant in the form that became standard (customers sitting down with individual portions at individual tables, selecting food from menus, during fixed opening hours) was the Grand Taverne de Londres (the "Great Tavern of London"), founded in Paris in 1782 by a man named Antoine Beauvilliers, a leading culinary writer and gastronomic authority[13] who achieved a reputation as a successful restaurateur. He later wrote what became a standard cookbook, L'Art du cuisinier (1814). "

En greve = on strike. They really do love to strike especially in areas of mass transportation.

French kiss. Some classmates and I were discussing this yesterday and the french don't understand how that term was coined. In French slang, a "French kiss" is called a "patin" (ice skating shoe) or a "galoche". Doing a French kiss is referred to "rouler un patin" (roll a skate, as in ice skating shoe) or "rouler une pelle" (roll a shovel).

Day 141 (20 weeks + 1 day)

I haven't counted the days in such a long while. I can't believe how much time has passed and how much has changed since I first arrived in Lyon.
Yesterday was the Le Fete National which is basically the 4th of July for France, except they only won independence from themselves in the French Revolution. Anyways last night there was a beautiful fireworks show that lasted about 25 minutes. We stood by the river and watched the bursts of lights form palm trees and rain showers in sky between the Cathedral and Le Tour Electrique.

Summer Reading

I recently finished Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafron, and recommend it to anyone who's looking for a mystery, sort of supernatural story with a twist of love. It was hard to put down but wasn't a quick read being more than 500 pages.  This follows the author's book The Shadow of the Wind which I've just started. Both books take place in Barcelona in the beginning of the the 1900's and give you a bit of a histroy lesson on the grueling past of the not-so-distant Spanish Civil War as well as various historical landmarks that are still visible today.

Besides my normal classwork I'm attemption to read Charles De Gaulle, a brief history of the former french president written in french. OOOh lala, c'est dificil and I'm thinking learning french is going to be a much longer and treacherous road than I expected. At least I started a new school yesterday where the teachers seem to get the class involved in many conversations which is great. Plus the class size is about 7 students instead of 20 so we get to ask questions and read outloud more. My favorite thing about Inflexion is that you can pick and choose which classes you want to go to each day, some of the classes include: Phoenetics, Written Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, and so on.

The weather has been stifling here. It's hot in Texas but at least everything there is air-conditioned. Here it's about 35 C or 94 F but the best you can hope for is an oscillating fan, the schools don't even have that much. The public transportation can be best summed up with the word "stench". People packed in buses to avoid walking in the heat only to be crammed in like sardines with their arms in the air and doing what Richard Simmons does when he listens to the Oldies.

A brief history in pictures - Discovering Futbol Club Barcelona

Tonight was an amazing victory for Spain and especially for the players of Barcelona's soccer team. Pujol, Iniesta, Busquets, Pedro,Villa, Xavi and Piqué were just some of the keyplayers in Spain winning the World Cup.

Me at my first Barça game in January - Barça vs. Villareal.

I've never heard such a loud crowd in my life.

 View of the "camp" and the Catalan flag.

The next three are from a game on a perfect day in April.

Outside Camp Nou on May 15 when Barça won the Spanish League.

Shortly after we joined the celebration party in the center.

Two happy fans.

 In June, we returned to the stadium so Roger could place his vote for Sandro Rosell to become the new Futbol Club President and after we got to tour the stadium inside and out.

The Players' locker room.

Mes Que Un Club - "More than a Club"   Sitting on the Barça shield

Gerard Piqué, one of my favorite players and one of the frontrunners on the national team during the cup.

You can see him here in this video, he's the first one with the "It's time for Africa" t-shirt on.

Big Weekend for Spain

Not many outsiders know that there was a peacefully rally yesterday in Barcelona where more than 1,100,000 Catalans, officials, and supporters protested the Spanish government's recent decision to remove certain rights regarding taxation and the Catalan language that have been in place for years.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/11/spain-world-cup-final-catalonia-basques

I love to say it....

"I told you so!"
Well, at least me and the octopus told you.



Last night Spain did what everyone thought was impossible and they beat Germany.
Seriously though, since the World Cup started I've been telling the half-dozen proud & boisterous Brazilians in my french class that Spain would be going all the way. Nobody saw them coming. I started following the FCB (Football Club de Barcelona) this past year, which the Spanish team is basically the same roster of players, and it's obvious can tell that there is just an amazing dynamic and chemistry there. Simply put, they're an exciting group to watch. The team should have gone further in the Champions league race this year but were robbed by Italy's Inter. At first glance it's easy to think that Argentinian star Lionel Messi makes FCB successful, but after taking him out of the equation during the World Cup games it's evident that's not the case.

Anyways, I was fortunate enough to be in Barcelona this past week and able to watch them beat Paraguay in a nail-biting match last saturday and play confidently against the Germans last night. On Saturday we happened to run into the newly-elected FCB president Sandro Rossel on a mountain 50 km NW of Barcelona while visiting the very obscure beautiful and spiritual Montserrat! No big deal.
    Thanks Roger for the vote!

Good-looking Catalan guys!

http://www.montserratvisita.com/?go=6b0419701c53a8c06002899e506189cbb75ded1990f29ce65c73dd04e60480c648d665c5eedcc70ca9041ad7dbe5323eb68485a50d572a956342b21686fe7767d0fbd1c365bcbb62

One of the funniest things ever, unless you've ever lost a cat

http://www.barnorama.com/make-me-a-poster-of-my-missing-cat

Delicious food

my latest discovery, and only 10 calories per each chocolate-dipped stick. so good.

I tried out this recipe on Wednesday and it was surprisingly easy and delicious! I left out the parsley and sub'd onions for Ciboulette.

Mushroom Baked Albacore

1 ½ pounds troll-caught albacore tuna steaks
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sliced mushrooms
½ cup Half & Half
1 tablespoon flour
Salt and pepper
Paprika
Chopped parsley

Saute onion, parsley and mushrooms in butter for about 10 minutes. Place albacore steaks in a greased baking dish, season with salt and pepper. Spread sauteed mixture over the steaks, then dot with butter. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes; remove from oven. Take juices from the pan and blend with Half & Half and flour in a small pan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Pour sauce over fish, return to oven for 5 more minutes. Top with parsley and paprika

Simple Things

Today on my way to school a young girl stopped me as I walked by her car and asked for a "crayon" or something to write with. That was Easy. Then I get to class and realize that I did the homework completely wrong, it seems I haven't quite grasped Passe Compose, Imparfait, and Plus-que-parfait. These are all different verb tenses used to describe things that happend in the past. Luckily today we had a student teacher sitting in and he was able to explain the concepts in English. Sometimes I swear it's impossible learning grammar about a foreign language when it's taught in that very language you're trying to understand. At least I think I might be on  the right track....
Speaking of tracks, at the metro station a little later a woman approached me with a map and immediately I thought Geez I can't wait to tell her that I don't understand what she's asking. However, she was speaking English and wearing a New Zealand sweatshirt, but how she knew I spoke english I have no idea. Some say it's easy to spot an American in other countries, I had hoped I was blending in better these days. Anyhow I was able to help her and explain that she needed to catch the next tram to get to where she was going. I have come a long ways since I first arrived here.
   Once on the bus a family of travelers came aboard, I could tell they were American immediately. They came all the way from Alaska and are on a 6 week tour of Europe. Unfortunately they had no idea of what had just happened at their next destination over the past few days.  It's really a catastrophe.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2248330.stm

Sidetracked

Today my friend Natalie and I inadvertantly did a bit of a triathalon. We started out looking for an indoor pool and ended up walking for more than an hour trying to find it a neighborhood we knew nothing about up on Fouviere Hill. Did I mention I was lugging about 10 lbs of my school books, in the rain? Anyways as it turns out, this is no ordinary pool but an olympic-sized pool so after completing about 10 or so laps I was done. Now onto Yoga for the final event, well maybe....

As always, I start out with a main purpose for getting online and then I get completely lost on You Tube, Facebook, BLOGGER.com, etc. Tonight I was looking for some cooking ideas and stumbled across this jewel. Bon Apetite!

The next chapter

I'm calling this second term in Lyon Part Dieu, for two reasons:
1) I'm about a block from the Centro Commercial which is called Part Dieu. The shopping mall, the train station, buses, and metros all come together here in the more modern part of the city.

2) After taking an official break from this whirlwind of an European experience and going back to the states for about two weeks, I returned to Lyon. It's not that I didn't think that I would come back, but I was definitely wondering before if I would have second thoughts once I was at home in Houston. Before leaving  the states in February, conversations with my family were along the lines of  "well, I will try it out and see how it goes" and "this won't be a permanent relocation". The first three months were a mix of shock and awe, adventure and boredom, just about any two extreme opposites of emotion I went through them all.

My assignment for my French class tonight is to write about all the things that have changed since arriving in Lyon. To that I say, "Merde, there isn't enough paper in my notebook or time in the world for my teacher grade this assignment."
Hmmm, a few key points in my paper will probably talk about.....
- Crying on the first day I was on my own in the city and got lost for about four hours in the twisted streets but now I can successfully navigate any of the transits systems without a hitch!
-Not being able to read a menu or order anything on my own not even at McDonalds. Now I've got favorite eating spots and use a french cookbook for meals at home.
- Not knowing how to workout without a gym to walking/running( only when headed downhill  =P ) through rose gardens and next to giraffes, elephants, and bears at our beautiful park down the street.

Everything is looking so much better already this time around.

I can clearly say though that I came back with the soap washed from my eyes and now I couldn't be more excited, in love and ready conquer anything this country and/or continent has to throw at me.

I'm so glad summer is here, and can't wait to explore the mediterranean in the next few months!
Menorca is going to be so amazing!

In today's news...

So much going on in the world right now, it's unbelievable!
First of all, I've been mentioning the Air France flight 447 for a while now. Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the accident. The families of the victims still do not have any answers as to why the plane went down and the airline is reluctant to continue their investigation because it's so costly. Today I will be flying Air France from Houston direct to Paris and then taking the speed train back to Lyon. It doesn't matter how many times I fly, I always get the pre-flight jitters. 

In other headlines:
Behind the Gores' Shocking Split The Daily Beast – 48 mins ago


Five confirmed killed in British shooting rampage Reuters – 16 mins ago

Anti-incumbency takes down another congressman AP – 1 hr 29 mins ago

Could Gulf oil spill bankrupt BP? The Christian Science Monitor – Tue Jun 1, 6:53 pm ET

US soccer team in fortified South Africa hotel AP – Wed Jun 2, 4:55 am ET

Are moviegoers tiring of sequels? Reuters – 43 mins ago

Military to Adopt NFL's Instant Replay Technology LiveScience.com – Tue Jun 1, 10:45 pm ET

.

Lyon Part Dieu

It doesn't take a scientist to know that I'm excited to get back to France tomorrow!

Bon Dia = Good morning in Catalan

Me @ Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain May 15

I woke up this morning, checked my e-mail and received a surprise. Roger is back in Barcelona and sent me some songs to get me up and going. I couldn't be any luckier.

this one reminds me of when we were in the city after Barce's big win two weeks ago and a live band was playing this and everyone was dancing, chanting "Barce" and singing in the streets.

I've been totally lazy lately and haven't written a thing about all the travelling I've been doing. I guess I'll start with the most recent trip back here in Texas. My good friend from college Carolyn tied the knot on Saturday in Austin. Roger flew into Houston Friday afternoon and we hit the road headed for the wonderful hill country. We stopped for dinner at Austin's famous Trudy's for some delicious margaritas and rich rich mexican food.

Saturday afternoon we witnessed the "I Do's" at a beautiful catholic church across from the UT campus.

After we headed to the Barton Creek Resort where the reception would be held 4 hours later. Once we got to the hotel I got to meet 4 very handsome little guys. These are just 4 out of about 10 babies that my friends have brought into the world this past year. Baby Fever!!

From Left to Right: Tristan Niebes (Katie & Jonathan); Nolan Kolwalski and his twin Carter on the far right (Rachael & Brad); Ryder Hemlock in the striped shirt (April & Matt)

They're so amazing.

Me with my gorgeous Delta Gammas sisters Carolyn & Sara.

The Sea Bass and Filet were unreal, not to mention they had potato lyonnais!

Sunday morning we refueled at the County Line for some of the best BBQ I've ever had.

Iced Tea, fresh wheat bread, along with some ribs, turkey, chicken and sausage. Yee haw!

We arrived in San Antonio later that day to Hotel Valencia where we got off to an interesting start. The hotel was very modern and was somewhat like a dungeon with its dark lighting and indoor waterfalls. It really set the mood for some mysterious surprises waiting for us in our room. Pretty much as soon as I was finding the spots of blood on our bathroom towels and on the floor, Roger discovered a lacy black pair of Fredericks of Hollywood underwear laying on the floor of the bedroom. Considering we probably stumbled across evidence of the murder of a hooker we should have gotten a little more than free breakfasts and a bottle of wine.  

The horror continues when we find that BP North America was meeting here as well.

Enough with the drama, out on the riverwalk.....

At the Alamo on Monday morning.

The Tower of Americas standing 750 feet up, built in the 60's for the World Fair held here in San Antonio. Despite my fear of heights, I braved this tower like Dallas' 650' Reunion in Tower last year.

Today I went with my two little cousins to see Shrek Ever After in 3-D.
It was better than I expected because the third Shrek movie was awful and I hadn't see any commercials for this movie, or for any current movies for that matter. On account of the hotness of the day, I decided to take full advantage of the A/C and rented The Road to watch as well. I finished the book a couple of months ago and can say that the movie was pretty good. Usually I am disappointed in movies after reading the books first i.e. Hannibal, and the Davinci code.

Maybe I'm feeling a little nostalgic today but there was commonality between the two movies. They both centered around the importance of fully appreciating everyone in your life and everything you've been given.

My Current Book, "All the Tea in China", I found in an Italian airport where I searching for a historical adventure to read.

Brief synopsis: An English horticulturalist sent by the crown secretly into China to find and steal Tea that was unavailable to the rest of the world.

After reading the summary I decided to purchase the book. Then I realized the author was none other than Sarah Rose. Amazing.

I continue to suprise myself every day.

a wonderful & much-needed reminder

just checking in

The past couple of weeks have been craziness. Jen's visit couldn't have gone better, and we exhausted ourselves in Paris and Rome running around seeing all the sites. Afterwards we wound down a couple of days in Lyon. We all left for the airport friday morning where Roger and I headed of to Barcelona and Jen left on her journey back to San Diego. In Barcelona Sunday night, we were at the stadium to celebrate Barce's victory as Spanish league Champs. We followed the victory route into the city where I witnessed thousands of the happiest people in the world with red and blue flags waving, horns honking, and people climbing over statues, bus stops, and the walls of buildings.
I've arrived in Houston Monday night after 24 hours of travelling. That day started out with cancelled flights in & out of heathrow thanks to the volcano again. Then after going to the airport and rerouting everything, I missed my connecting flight in NY to Chicago. Finally, I was able to get on a direct flight from NY to Houston, but my luggage wasn't so lucky. I finally recovered my luggage today and Im still trying to adjust to the 7 hour time difference. Plus after spending three months on another continent I'm feeling strange and a little out of the loop here.

Hopefully soon I will get to upload some pics and have enough concentration to give more details about the trips. In the meantime, here's a little song for your listening pleasure.

As a closet parrothead, I can't believe I almost forgot this one.

All my bags are packed

...I'm ready to go. I'm standin' here outside you door I hate to wake you up to say goodbye. But the dawn is breakin' it's early morn. The taxi is waitin' he's blowin' his horn....."

Well, almost....

I will be getting up earlty tomorrow because my train leaves at 7:56 in the morning, luckily the station is just a block away. Two hours later I will arrive at Charles De Gaulle airport to meet Jen who is flying in from San Diego. So far I've spent a great deal of time learning the public transportations systems there and not much time planning our sites. However, we have a loose agenda that we've put together with tips from friends. Since we're both pretty fascinated by the paranormal, we'll start with the catacombs and cemetaries.

Then Saturday afternoon we'll leave for Rome. I love the history of the Roman Empire and going to Italy has always been a dream of mine. I'm looking forward to seeing the Colliseum the most.

When in Rome (4 days)

A Chocolate Cake

No class today, or for the rest of the month for that matter. So the only things on my plate are planning my trip(s) and baking a cake. A Moelleux Fourre Au Chocolate to be exact.

Paris minus 3 days

Great song by Kate Nash who I like more and more everytime I hear her. Here are two songs about ways not to fall victim while we're out on our own.

You can do anything that you want, world is an oyster, dont dissapoint us

You can stand on your own two feet, you can lead me through the streets

Pave the way, so we can dream dreams, noone else can see what you made me see.....

Me with my spanish-speaking classmates celebrating after our last day of school. Joel, the Cuban Chef, Romina, the Venezuelan dentist, Ana Gabriela, the Brasilian student and Martin, the Argentinian Hockey star. It's not a surprise why my spanish is improving more than my french. Salud!