Le Fabuleux Destin de Lauren

On Sunday morning we congregated in Corey's room at 9:30 am for Breakfast. (*side note: we now = Anna Anniina, Adrian, Oliver, Corey, Magda and myself) Of course the only food we actually had was bacon, microwave curry rice, and some ham. But we also had Trans Siberian Orchestra's Christmas album, coffee, hot chocolate, photos/videos, and good friends (sorry that's really cheesey! but true.). So we made coffee, hot chocolate, and mochas for everyone and looked at photos and videos of our time in France. We then returned to our discussion of how we met everyone (The conversation actually started on the bus to dinner the weekend before). It was interesting to realize that a bunch of us had met a few times before really meeting. Perfect example is that I had met Dan and Corey at a party the school put on the second day we were there but I hadn't remembered that AT ALL. I thought I had met them for the first time on the Versailles trip. (Dan I really didn't blow you off at that party I swear!)

Anna made the most delicious bacon ever for everyone while we talked and laughed over all the stupid things we had done or said over the semester.

Around 10:30-11 we decided to finally head downtown for the lunch we'd been planning for over a week. Tytti was going to meet us there since she had been with her family the whole weekend so we separarted, showered and got ready for the day. I was helping Magda with her final moments of packing and forced Ciccio into making a video for her. After some time we all went on our way to stop by the train station and make sure Magda's train was for sure leaving (and they weren't on strike again).

Gare Rouen Rive Droite (Train Station Rouen Right Bank)

This was a Christmas display in one of the windows and the bear was moving his arm to scratch his chest.

This snowman was outside the restaurant we ate at. (Magda and Anniina)

I don't know where this came from or how she got it but I think Magda makes a good Santa

Oliver and Magda

Anniina and Adrian (Anniina looks surprised because Adrians making a normal face in a photo)

Anna and Tytti

Me and Corey (I make Corey smile pretty in photos with me )

Corey and Oliver

Corey Face!

my Tartiflette

my ice cream

Magda's Ile Flottante

Tarte tatain (upside down apple pie)

After lunch we all put Magda on her train and said our goodbyes. I followed through on my promise of being there to see her off and running along side of the train as it left.

After that the boys went home to do boy things I guess, I'm not really sure. the girls instead went to the christmas market to pick up a few last minute items for families and such and also our I heart rouen shirts. Anna and I got the last 2 shirts they had but they were men's larges so we wear them as dresses instead (which is good because Anna doesn't own pants anyways).

At the market we ran into Ciccio, Amine, Brian and Jordan who were headed to the big clock to climb up it and take the tour. Anna and I decided to join them (never mind I had a final the next morning I really needed to study for. Sorry mom). Tytti and Anniina decided to do some quick shopping and head home instead.

This is the view from inside the clock looking out on the main shopping street in Rouen

At the top of the clock there is a balcony with a view of the entire city

Here is the Cathedral

The clock mechanics

one of the bells

The city of Rouen

The coolest little apartment with an amazing garden

**insert studying here**

That night we all ordered pizza and watched Home Alone 1 and 2. Mid way through 2 the fire alarm went off (that was a first) so we kind of evacuated and then returned to our movie after the alarm was turned off (someone had accidentally leaned on the button). After the movie I went to bed at a very respectable time and got up in the mornign for my final.

**insert final here**

I literally had to run out of my final to catch Team Finland who was leaving that very moment. I was lucky though, because they had to stop and pick up Lotta and I caught them in one of the parking lots to say goodbye.

After that only Corey, Adrian and myself were left of our group of friends. So we three went for kebab in order to console ourselves.

I then returned to my room to begin the final stages of packing

I had to unplug my fridge so I had to put the last of my food on the window sill to keep it cold.

That night I made dinner for the boys with our left over food and we watched episodes of Band of Brothers and Trailer Park Boys. Then Corey and I watched Nightmare before Christmas, because he'd never seen it, I love it, and Adrian hates cartoons so he left.

After that it was snowing again so I went for a quick walk to the lookout point to say goodbye to my beloved Rouen

The next morning I finished cleaning and packing up my life and checked out of Ango with Fran and said goodbye to the last of my friends.

Then I headed to the train to meet my family in Paris to go to The Basque Country for Christmas. I was so excited and sad and emotionally drained at that point I took a couple of photos on the train and passed out for a bit.

In the red towel is Discotronic from Anna, it made it all the way to Euskadi and then to Idaho and then California in perfect condition! I was so excited

Next up, Euskadi with the fam

Friday December 18th:

It was checkout day for many of my friends which was really sad and depressing to watch Laine and Magda clean and pack up their lives. While they did that I stole Laine's computer for a couple of hours in order to organize everything for my parents and to a certain extent myself. I had a HUGE bag packed that I was taking to give to my parents so that when I met them Tuesday I would only have one large bag to take on the train and metros of Paris. (that bag is now dubbed The Beast for good reason).

I took the 3pm train with Tytti, Anniina, Oliver and Corey to Paris.

From the train we grabbed some Quick which is the French version of Mcdonalds. Then grabbed the metro to our hostel. Hostel Oops!. which is the first designer hostel in Paris, we ended up arriving WAY before everyone else so we decided to drop off our stuff and go ice skating at Hotel De Ville (which means city hall in French).

The roof was sparkling like the Eiffel Tower !

After skating for about an hour and a half we walked over to Notre Dame to see it at night

Just a couple of French tree huggers

After Notre Dame we called our friends since they had just arrived in Paris. They decided to drop their stuff off and eat near the hostel. Since we were so close to Saint Michel we chose to eat there then head back

We ended up going to a Gyro place on one of the main corners. We all got gyros with tzatziki sauce and ate in the back of the restaurant. When we were almost done eating all the sudden Corey gasps and makes a horrible spasm. I look to my right and see on the wall this cute little mouse crawling around the photos on the wall and behind the wall hangings.

To be honest the restaurants have their doors open all night to welcome/entice people to come in. They're in super old buildings that will most likely have mice in them. It's just not something you want to see while eating.

We then headed back to the hostel and on the way Corey wanted to get something from the local store so I went with him while the others went in to hang out with everyone who had arrived. (Basically 20-25 people from Ango stayed in Oops that night) On our way the store we saw this gem of a restaurant :

We're just wondering if they are speedy as a rabbit or sells rabbit pizza speedy

After hanging out at the hostel for a while we headed to Oberkampf in Paris to a bar that one of the French kids from our school was at. So we grabbed the metro over and on it was this nice accordian playing man in a Redskins jacket.

So we had a party on the metro

*insert bar here*
We had a raging good time and it was a proper send off for Laine, Justin, Dan and Jessica. I got home at about 4am and got up at about 4:45 in order to be at CDG by 7 am. (yes I got 45 mins of sleep that night)

One of the worst things about having an american credit card is that we don't have the chip thing in order to buy things from the automatic machines, and I didn't have 9 euros in coin so I had to illegally get to CDG because the windows weren't open for me to buy a ticket either. So I bought a ticket for the local metro in central Paris and then grabbed the RER train to CDG and when I got to CDG I threw my 20 kilo bag over a 6 foot high metro fence and then hopped over it myself. I literally don't know how I got that bag over. My dad can attest to what a feat that was.

From the airport I bought all of us tickets back to Paris (the windows were open then) and I took them to their hotel and promptly passed out on their hotel bed for an hour. I then checked in with my friends and figured out a plan for the day. I set up my parents with maps, metro tickets, how to buy more metro tickets, etc.

Then I took Matt (for those of you who don't know is my brother) to go meet my friends down on the Champs Elysees to go to the Christmas market and see a bit of Paris.

We met Oliver, Anna, Anniina, Magda and Corey outside the disney store and walked to the market.

See proof he his in Paris!

mmmmm Tartiflette

souble mmmmmm pan full of meat and onions

Cute cow from the "real" nativity scene

everything was covered in chocolate!

Cute sibling photo thanks to Magda

After the Christmas market and the Arc (and a quick stop at McDonalds so everyone could eat except Matt and myself) Corey really wanted to go see Saint Chapelle which is in the palace of justice near Notre Dame.

In order to see the church we had to go through metal detector where Corey got in trouble for having a cork screw in his backpack that he had to go check at the desk.

The church was really impressive because it was all stained glass

unfortunately the most impressive part was under renovation/maintenance so it was all behind scaffolding

But I took a photo of the display photo

the floor was really neat

Holy Crap mom! Matt's in a church! I have proof!

Matt wanted this photo

My new eurotrash haircut

After the church we went and did a touch of shopping where I bought some prints of Paris for my mom for Christmas. Then I took Matt back to the parental unit and said my goodbyes for the next couple of days

Then I was off to Saint Michel for dinner with Team Finland (sans Tytti) Magda and Corey

1st course Moules in white wine sauce

main course boeuf bourguignon

Corey Face!

She was the healthy one and got fruit

We got chocolate crepes

After dinner we RAN to Gare St Lazare to get our train back to Rouen. Unfortunately when we got back we had forgotten that the buses were on strike that day and there was a HUGE line for the taxis. so we went and got something to drink and some snacks for the taxi line.

When we got back we all decided to hang out and have a going away party for Magda who was leaving the next afternoon.

Somehow Anniina got Amine's cowboy hat and wore it all night