Apartment Search

So Prague is extremely fun, still confusing, but fun. We have found an apartment that looks amazing. The 3rd floor of the building is under construction, so the apartments are really cheap right now. I also don't think they would do short term leases except for the fact that the renovations are not finished. Its really modern and pretty spacious and we will be living there with two other girls (Kira and Emily) who are both from U Michigan. I wish the realtor didn't charge such a high commission, but I guess there's nothing you can do when you don't speak Czech 

Last night was fun, we went to this little pub called Dump Pub (apparently dump means house in Czech and is pronounced "doom," but that didn't really take away our enjoyment of the Dump :) It was a very relaxing evening just hanging out. Unfortunately I think the bar tender didn't like us very much because none of us had small change. She was particularly perturbed by Alison paying for her drink with a 500 (the drink was about 35). We think we are going to a club called Mecca tonight. Apparently Wednesdays are supposed to be fun there. 

I am soooo excited about our apartment!!!! Hopefully the internet there will let me post photos on the blog - I haven't been able to make it work in this hotel (as you can see) and then everyone can see the apartment! 

Prague!

Well, we finally made it! We were very exhausted (and Kelsey was not feeling well), but we arrived okay and promptly went to sleep. Now we feel much better! Our room is interesting. We have a suite with two bedrooms, Kelsey and I in one and a Williams student (Hannah) and eventually two other girls in the other.  

We went out to lunch at a restaurant down the street. It was really good and very cheap! Such a relief after England and Paris. Luckily they had a menu written in English. Hannah speaks German which was helpful because they waiter did not speak much English. Its a bit scary to realize that I can't read anything and can't speak to anyone who does not speak English. Obviously I expected it, but its a whole different experience in reality. I'm not too worried about it yet. I'm sure in a couple of weeks it will hit me that I have no idea what is going on. 

After lunch we spent the afternoon looking at apartments with another girl (Kira) and may be rooming with her and another girl Emily (they are both from U Michigan). We've met some of the other students, everyone seems really nice. Of course, friend groups are already forming, which is a bit intimidating, but hopefully everyone will get along. We don't have anything orientation-wise tomorrow, so we may go apartment hunting. Orientation begins at 9:15 on Wednesday...I can't wait! :) 

FUN FUN FUN

xxx 

Almost time for Prague!

Yay, I got the one computer with an English keyboard (its pretty close to the american one, and thus makes me very happy)!

Last night was pretty fun at the hostel, we met several guys from all over the U.S. (South Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania). With Kelsey, me, and Dylan who we met the other day (he's from Minnesota) we had a good portion of the U.S. represented. Its funny how you meet people from your own country who you would never encounter at home when you are abroad. We had a really nice night in...after our long day of walking.

Today we had a very relaxed day and avoided the major tourist attractions. We wandered around and bought food for lunch, then we went to the aquarium (which is a very long metro ride away) and walked around a big park. The park was really fun. There were loads of french families with their little kids. I have never seen so many people in a park! Especially not in the winter. They had pony rides for the little kids - why don't we have parks like that??

Tomorrow we begin our journey to the Czech Republic via bus. We start at 2:00 in the afternoon and we will get in at 6:30 in the morning! According to our program director we should be able to check into the hotel even though its so early. I can't wait!!!

xxx

Paris (continued)

Continuing adventures in Paris...
On Thursday we were originally going to go to a bunch of museums, but we met two guys from our hostel who zere going to Versailles and and decided to go with them. We did not decide this until after we had gotten on the metro, so we hoped off the metro randomly and waited for them. It wa a fantastic spontaneous decision and we had a lot of fun.
Today we went to Notre Dame, Saint Chapelle, Centre Pompidou, the Picasso Museum, and the Louvre (we walked too much!). We also booked our 16 hour bus trip to Prague!!!! Excited about Prague, but not about that. We had an amazing but tiring day. I can't stand the French keyboard so that's all for now.

xxxx marissa

Paris

Paris is beautiful, but I think I prefer the places we visited in England. The atmospheres are very different. Our hostel is lovely. Its a bit cold at night, but clean and has an amazing view. The other girls in our room are nice as well. We met a girl named Katie from Linfield - small small world. We went out and had a very nice dinner before taking a look at the light show on the Eiffel Tower. Its really interesting to see the tower sparkling with lights. We did a relatively early night in to prepare for the next day.
Today we slept in because it was the first day we didn't have to travel. We bought half a baguette for breakfast (we missed the hostel breakfast); it was delicious. Then we went up to Sacre Coeur. The view was amazing. The inside of the church is beautiful as well, unfortunately they do not allow photography or videography inside. We walked around Montmartre (sort of following the Rick Steves guide book) and got some crepes and saq Moulin Rouge. Then we went to the Arc de Triomphe and walked down the Champs Elysees. I think we are going to go back down there tonight to see it all lit up.
Thats all for now. I will add pictures to these posts when I'm able.

England

Well, despite some struggles with our luggage and exaustion on the first day, England was amazing (largely due to the chivalry of English gentlemen). I cannot thank the guys who carried our luggage up the stairs in the tube enough. I also cannot thank Denny enough for lugging it all over the English country side. First night (in London) was nothing special, we were too tired to do more than walk around. On Saturday we took in all the typical tourist sights (Big Ben, Pariliament, Buckingham Palace) and then headed off to Bournemouth. In Bournemouth we got decked out in some UV paint and went dancing. We met some lovely people and thouroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Oxford was beautiful; neither Kelsey or I can believe people actually go to school there. Denny was an excellent tour guide and we had a nice day. We went out and saw P.S. I Love You that night (wow movies are expensive in England!). It was a cute movie and nice and relaxing after all of our traveling. On Monday we went to Stratford upon Avon and saw Shakespeare's house and the Tudor Theater. Unfortunately it rained and we got quite wet. We met up with Rich from GV that night in a pub and just chatted and hung out in British fashion.
Today we took the Eurostar through the Chunnel to Paris and we are very happy that we are staying for a couple days. I am about to run out of internet time, so that's all for now.
x0x0
marissa