Exciting Events!

Since my last post LOTS has happened. Rocky and Maria came to visit us in Metz, I went with them on day trips, I found my new favorite European clothing store, David and I travelled with them to Switzerland, we all witnessed mass chaos (and some flustered Italians) because of rerouting trains, we saw a robbery, David found Dr. Pepper for me, and we have a new favorite kind of apple juice.

So this post will be about all of that.

Maria and Rocky came into Metz on Sunday, September 16th. That very day, Metz was having some kind of "open house" for almost of the the buildings in town. We got to go into all kinds of churches, government buildings, mayor's offices etc... It was neat. It was a good way for them to break-in their walking shoes! We also showed them around the area surrounding our apartment.

Monday:

Rocky, Maria, and I all went to Luxembourg. Right outside of the train station we found an H&M store. I've heard a lot about them but had never been in one. It was great! I found a new pair of pants and a really nice top, and Maria bought quite a bit herself. It was the most shopping I've done since January! ...I needed new pants though, so it worked quite well. After some shopping we headed into the center of Luxembourg. We found the eternal flame (dedicated to some soldiers) that David had been looking for each time he'd been to Luxembourg... Try to visualize... we are walking down the right side of a bridge. On the right there is a slightly inclined hill that has a paved walking path up it, and you can't really see what is on the top of the hill. Usually this is the side of the street we walk on when going into Luxembourg. With Rocky and Maria we were walking on the left side of the bridge. Being over there, we were able to see on top of that little hill. This is when I saw the flame. I couldn't believe it! The whole time it had been there but we hadn't seen it because of the side of the street we were walking on. Wow, that's incredible. After some pictures we kept walking into Luxembourg. We stopped by a cathedral, some pretty squares with sculptures in the center and eventually made it to the downtown area. At this point it was time for lunch. We ate at a restaurant with French cuisine (even though we all ordered something Italian). We had a really great waitress and at the end of our meal we asked her for directions to the other H&M in town because that one has men's clothing (the first one was just women's). After shopping for Rocky, and finding another pair of pants for me (jeans this time!) we started walking back in the direction of the train station. We tried to find some museums...and we did, but on Monday's nothing is open in France! So we couldn't go in. We continued towards the train station and went walking along a ravine. It was very pretty. The weather was nice, the sun was out, and it was very green. We had lots of fun taking goofy and not-so-goofy pictures and then realized we were lost in the ravine. But, before long, we found our way out and back to the train station. It was a very nice first day-trip. We arrived back in Metz around 5:30pm and went directly to the Techopole and the GTL campus so that Maria to see where David goes everyday. She got a quick tour while David tried to teach Rocky some mechanical engineering and then they left with David to go back to our apartment while I stayed at GTL for my french class.

Tuesday:

Strasbourg! There is much more to see in Strasbourg than in most other neighboring cities of Metz...and for Maria and Rocky there was a little extra. We walked into the downtown area where the Strasbourg cathedral is (because that is always where you have to go first). We saw signs saying that there was going to be a special video presentation that day, so we looked into it and prepared to stay to see it. There is an astrological clock in Strasbourg and that was what the video was about. It was in 3 different languages (French, German, and English) and they just took turns speaking in each. Although, I did notice that some of the things they said in French they did not say in English...so I guess you have to know all 3 languages to really get all the information. The show was very informative, followed by the clock actually chiming so you could see everything working. After that we headed for lunch. We ate at the same restaurant that I have taken everyone to...Le Gruber. But, I think this might be the last time I go there. I think they are under new management and they have "live music" everyday - aka a lady singing, who isn't very good, with a loud speaker that just makes it harder to hear the people you are trying to have a nice lunch with. She also goes around with a basket asking for money afterwards...and this is usually was unemployed people do to make money. So I don't think it was the best decision for the restaurant owners. Anyway...after lunch we needed to digest all that Alsacien food! We headed over to the Ill river and took a boat tour. I might have this memorized by the time we leave France for good...this is the third time I've done it :o) Following the boat tour, we went back to the cathedral and made the long hike to the top. I counted this time, 325 steps! 66 meters. Not matter how many times you do it it still isn't easy. We spent some time on top of the cathedral, heard the bells ring at 15 after the hour, and then went back down. Then we walked around the touristy area a little more and eventually headed back towards the train station. We had a little extra time before the train left so we stopped so Rocky could have his daily cafe au lait and Maria could try a strawberry pastry. We made it home to Metz, and that was Tuesday.

Wednesday:

Nancy. The last of our day trips. I've been to Nancy a lot too, but each time I go I find something new. With David's family we found an aquarium, and this time with Rocky and Maria I found a gazebo, a flower clock, a mini zoo in the middle of a park, some flower gardens, a big fountain, flags of the EU made out of different flowers, and another H&M :o) We started by visiting Place du Stanislas, the very ornate golden square of Nancy. Then we began our walking adventure that took us to all these places.The only thing I didn't like about the mini zoo is that they had a chimpanzee that was all alone. He was laying in his cage but he looked so lonely. I tried to play a peek-a-boo game with him but he just seemed so depressed. Poor guy...I'd go play with him everyday if I lived closer and they would let me. Anyway, unlike Strasbourg, each time I go to Nancy I eat at a different place (I should write a travel guide and compete with Rick Steves! ha!) This time we went to a very French restaurant and ordered from a menu even though we couldn't translate everything. Everything was really good, but afterwards we found out that Rocky had eaten pig head - not kidding. I recognized "pig" on the menu, but it seemed like some kind of slang phrase so he thought he would try it anyway. After lunch and finding everything we went to a church and looked around then ended up walking along a busy street back to the train station (this is where we found the H&M; by-the-way, we went into each one we saw just to say that we did, silly, I know.) We got home early so that we could pack for Switzerland! That evening we celebrated Talk Like a Pirate Day (Maria and I dressed up!) and also played a game of Settlers of Catan (thanks John) and I won! But it was a really good game anyway.

Thursday - Monday

Switzerland!

Lot's happened while we were in Switzerland, but I won't go into too much detail unless it is really interesting. First of all, you have to know that Switzerland is BEAUTIFUL! Especially the very mountainy areas where people either live up in the mountain (and have to take a cable car to get to their house) or in the valleys of the mountains where you still have the amazing view. But before we made it to all these places we had to ride the train. Our first train never made it to it's original destination because for some reason the connection was cancelled or something was wrong with the track - ? So we had to ride a bus from one station to a larger station. The problem was, the bus didn't take us to the larger station. It stopped at another small one and the driver made us get off and he drove away. So we, and about 25 other people, were stranded and confused. Luckily David was really the only person who could speak both French and English well enough, while keeping a level head, to find out what we needed to do. So we tried to lead this large group of people to where they needed to go. We met a man from Korea who was also a Mechanical Engineer, an older woman who is an American citizen but originally from Peru who was trying to visit her daughter that is living in Switzerland, a couple from China that, no matter how many times we explained it to them, kept asking us what they needed to do next, a Swiss couple who didn't really do anything strange, and two Italians that just couldn't hold it together...all they wanted to do was "go to Milaaaaano" It kept us entertained though. Then there was the rest of the group who didn't really talk to us but followed us wherever we went. It was so neat meeting all these people though. I really liked the old lady and the Korean guy. Eventually we made it to the Basel SBB station and ended up in Geneva.

Geneva was cool. We stayed in a hostel (my first hostel). We saw a water jet that sprayed 140 meters high...yeah, it was incredible. We also got to rent bike for 4 hours for free! Rocky and Maria got to see all the sculptures of their favorite reformers and we ate at a restaurant at outside tables and got really cold.

The next day we headed to Interlaken. At the Geneva train station we witness something I hope to never witness again. We got on the train and began putting our bags up above our heads when this guy walked by me in the aisle. I shouldn't have, but I said to myself "That guys is pretty creepy." As he passed me he kinda bumped into me and that didn't help my opinion of him. Less than 2 minutes later a lady in our car started yelling "attention! attention!" So naturally, we think someone wants the train to wait while the get on or something like that. As this is happening I see that same creepy guy running outside of our window with an extra bag in his hand. He stole it from the lady who was yelling! The problem is, the people outside of the train just think he is a guy running to catch his train, and the people inside the train can't get off to try and catch him. This feeling of helplessness is the worst! For the rest of the train ride to Interlaken the four of us were talking about it...what the guy was wearing, how it all happened, how creepy he was, and how much more attentive we will be from now on. I don't know what they can do for that lady, but I hope that somehow that guy gets caught.

Interlaken was beautiful, and even more so was Gimmelwald where we were staying (at a bed and breakfast that was up in the mountains). While here, we took lots of amazing pictures, went hiking, met Cori and Frank for the day, ate some typical Swiss cuisine, and enjoyed the simplicity of life there. We stayed in Interlaken for two days and then headed for Luzern. Luzern is more of a city with the mountains off in the distance, but it was still a really nice city. It was very clean and the people were nice. We only encountered one person who was asking for money. We also had dinner at a Mexican restaurant and had a really friendly waitress! We also found the famous "Weeping Lion" and had a blast in a museum that had a mirror maze and 'fun house' mirrors...I don't think any of us have laughed that hard in a really long time. I've also decided that I want a maze of mirrors in my house someday. We also visited a Swiss Transportation Museum. It was huge! we could have spent multiple days there, but we only had a few hours, so we did a speedy tour. They also had a planetarium there.

After that we had to go back to our hotel to pick up our bags and go to the train station. It was time to say goodbye. Rocky and Maria were headed to Zurich and we were headed back to Metz. :o( I was feeling a little nauseous from a merry-go-round that David spun way to fast so Maria and I sat down while Rocky and David went to go buy cheap food for our train rides. They came back, we all said goodbye and went our separate ways to our platforms. When on the train David pulled out the bag of food he had bought and inside of it was a Dr. Pepper! Why is this so exciting? Because I haven't had a Dr. Pepper in over 9 months...they don't have them in France! Plus I wasn't feeling well and David knew it would be a nice surprise. It was, and it did help settle my stomach a bit.

Altogether we had a really great time and I was sad to see it end. Back in our apartment on Tuesday I realized that I don't like it with so little life there. Before Maria and Rocky came we were pet sitting for Alex so the cat was always there, then they came and they were always there...now, during the day, it's just me again, and that isn't a whole lot of fun. But, I am excited that we'll be going home to see everyone in about two and a half months! Hopefully David will be able to incorporate celebrating the passing of ALL his quals with celebrating our 1 year anniversary!

(Obviously there are a lot more pictures than what I've shown you here...check out my web album on PicasaWeb)

More later!