Ciao!

Hello all!

So I am off for another traveling adventure on Saturday and I just wanted to post one last thing. I am flying to Venice on Saturday, train-ing it to Rome on Tuesday, and then taking another train to Sicily on Friday where I am staying with my friend Caitlin from home. We are then coming back to Rennes to show her my hood. I'm very excited to see a familiar face, as I miss everyone from home. Whats more is I will get to see my grandmother in Paris for a night, which will be great. I am very excited as I've heard all three places are absolutely beautiful.

Life in Rennes at the moment is a bit hectic. While it is definately spring here, it has been sunny and 50 for a while, the strike at the university is at full force. The general strike was on January 29th, so that is when the students began to strike. About two weeks ago they voted on a partial strike, meaning they didn't go to school at all the months of Febuary or March. But now, they have fully blockaded the university. We had to wait outside the building for 45 minutes the other morning because the students were blocking the doors, not allowing anyone to enter. After having morning classes, the afternoon classes were cancelled due to more blockading. The on Tuesday night, the president of the university essentiall closed down the school. We had no classes on Wednesday, and our Thursday/Friday classes have been moved to another part of the city. I guess we are all getting the TRUE French experience.

I hope everyone enjoys these next couple weeks of April - Prepare for a long blog post about adventures in Italy.

Ciao!

Ma Famille en France

Bonjour!!

WARNING: This is a long post - I have so much to say as I am the only Verrill in France now – after having a week of fam time!

Mom, Dad, and Gracie flew to Nice the morning of Friday (the 13th). I joined them in the afternoon after class. We rented an apartment, which was so chic and cute, and up a HUGE hill. But it was nice to have our own space and able to cook our own food and keep things in the kitchen. That night our good family friends, the Peterson’s, well Kate and Joyce, came to meet us for cheese and wine before dinner. We then walked downtown and found an easy pizza place for a last minute dinner. The next morning we met Joyce and Kate again at an incredible market where we bought fresh strawberries, clementines, and dried fruit. We found an outdoor café for some salads for lunch, as the weather was so beautiful. Then we walked all around Old Nice, went to a gelato place with 96 flavors including Nutella, Cactus, Avacado, Tomato Basil, and every fruit you can imagine. When we parted with the P’s, we went home to take a nap. They were exhausted from traveling/jet lag, and I was just lazy. That night we had bought some fresh pasta, pesto from the market, and some fresh bread to cook for dinner at the apartment. Sunday morning we woke up early and headed up in an elevator to the highest point in Nice. It had an absolutely incredible view of the harbor, the beaches, and you could see all the way to Cannes! It was castle ruins and a cute park at the top, which was nice to walk around in. We walked down and had an incredible seafood lunch at an outdoor restaurant near the flower market. From the top we could see a lot of commotion by the boardwalk, so we went to check it out and found it to be the end of a very popular, week-long bike race from Paris to Nice. We were able to watch the end of it – which was amazing, and the bikers were so incredibly fast! For dinner we ended up just eating whatever because we hadn’t planned exactly for everything to be closed that Sunday. Monday was our last morning – so we decided to just get a quick croissant and sit in the sun and people watch, which proved to be perfectly entertaining.

Monday afternoon we flew to Rennes, and to our surprise my host mom showed up at the airport to pick us up, it was awkward to say the least, but her intentions were sweet. She took us back to our house, where the fam could see where I live and meet my host sister Lucile. They went back to take showers and I met them in town for a typical Bretagne meal of galettes, crepes, and kir. Afterwards, my friends Helen, and Lindsay came into town to go out with me and Gracie, which was fun (pic of Gracie and I in front of the Opera at night). Tuesday afternoon after class I met the fam for lunch, with my friends Ally, Helen, Mimi, and Lindsay. I was so happy that my family got to meet my friends here. We all got sandwiches and went to a beautiful park in Rennes for a big picnic. I then showed the fam around Rennes, brought them to my pastry shop, and after coffee I sent them on their way to Paris.

Tuesday was St. Patrick ’s Day and as it turns out, Rennes loves St. Patrick’s Day! It was an absolutely beautiful day, and it my class Wednesday morning was cancelled so we were ready to celebrate properly. We bought some Leffe, our favorite new beer, and headed to the big Irish pub, O’Connell’s, in town. It was a huge scene, and really fun to see everyone in Rennes out and about. We got free hats and glasses, and went back towards St. Anne, where all the bars are. It was still really warm out so we sat outside and people watched for the rest of the night before catching the last metro home.

Wednesday after classes I caught the train to Paris. When I arrived I went straight to the hotel to meet the fam. We took showers and went out to a SLAMMIN’ meal in the Latin Quarter. I had braised beef and vegetables, a true St. Patty’s Day meal, and Gracie and I shared a chestnut sundae, which sounds weird, but was super good. Thursday we didn’t do too much because they had done SO much the day before. So we just did the Champs D’Elysee, shopping, quick lunch, and walked around our area. That night we walked to a restaurant I had heard of from a friend on CIEE, Claire (from Belfast, Maine!), and Lindsay, Julia and I tried to go last time, but it was closed. It’s called The Chartier, and I highly recommend it. The food isn’t STELLAR but it’s all about the experience. It was an old building, and while we waited almost 45 minutes for a table, it was a cool crowd, and a very cool atmosphere. Friday we woke up early to do Pere Lachaise Cemetery (where Edith Piaf (in picture to the right bottom, and Dad's cool Jim Morrison pic above), Oscar Wilde, Chopin, and Jim Morrison are buried … to name a few). It was a bit creepy and extremely crowded, but worth checking it out. We had lunch in the Jewish quarter (smoked salmon on a bagel, complete with baklava for dessert) and headed home. On the way home we decided to stop at the Louvre where we checked out the basement real quick which we thought would be more creepy and ancient then it was. After our long day we took naps before heading to a quick early din at our new favorite café on Rue du Rivoli, called the Imperial Café, with incredible salads and pasta. Saturday (the fam’s last day in France :( ) we went to a photo exhibit for Robert Frank (American photographer) at the Tulerie Garden Gallery. The view from the gallery was really cool – you could see so much. We grabbed sandwiches and ate them in the Luxemburg Gardens, along with the rest of Paris, and we were able to see the Senate building. We walked home, and stopped at Angelina’s on the way home. It is a cute, fancy restaurant, close to our hotel, that is famous for their hot chocolate. It literally tastes like a melted chocolate bar, it’s unreal (it also helps that it use to be one of Chanel’s favorite restaurant’s as the Ritz, one of her former residences, is around the corner). Again, nap and dinner around the corner at another close café.

Sunday they left around 5 AM but I was lucky enough to be able to have the room until 4 in the afternoon. I slept in, read Harry Potter for a while in bed, and met Julia for a late lunch. We had cheeseburgers – which were perfect. Next stop, the Louvre. We saw the Mona Lisa, and I was able to go throughout the rooms that talk about the history of the Louvre which I had wanted to do this week. After the museum closed we walked all around the 2nd, near the Pompidou, and grabbed a cup of coffee. I grabbed my bag at the hotel and took the 9 PM train home. It was such a great, relaxing day, not to mention a perfect way to end yet another fantastic stay in Paris.

Some highlights:
- Mariage Frere tea store in Paris is incredible, their tea is amazing and they have legit every flavor, not to mention intense, knowledgeable employees.
- The Chanel original boutique on Rue de Cambon, wow. I wanted literally everything in the store.
- Listening to mom and dad try and speak French, very cute and I was very impressed with both of them.
- Oscar Wilde’s grave, very cool, huge, and was actually given to the cemetery by someone who admired his work, not family. The grave was covered in lipstick marks from people who had visited and clearly were in love with his work.
- Constantly imagining the Louvre as a palace. It is so gigantic, we continued to wonder, how would you get a message from one end to the other?
- Drinking lots of red wine and eating lots of good food with the fam – yay France!

Hogwarts in France

Things are starting to get back into a rhythm after vacation and I have been trying to get back into exploring Rennes. Last week my friend Lindsay and I went shopping and she discovered the most amazing pastry shop on a tiny street by the major’s building in Rennes, it was unreal. I also went tried a new bar on Friday night, it was a tapas bar! But the tapas didn’t even compare to what we had in Seville. The most exciting thing was that on Saturday, our program (CIEE) took us on a trip to St. Malo, Cancale, and Mont Saint Michel, very close to one another on the ocean about an hour north. One of our monitors (university students who led us during orientation) lives in St. Malo, and was very excited to show us around. There was a huge wall that went all around the small city, which was rich with history from WWII and battles between the French and the English. Next we went to Cancale, which I had already visited with Lindsay and her host family. We were there for just about an hour to have a small picnic and look around. I tried oysters for the first time!! If you are going to eat oysters in France, you are supposed to eat them in Cancale, as that is pretty much all it is known for. When you are at a fancy restaurant in Paris, sometimes you will see signs that say “Cancale Oysters” but eating them there was much more of an experience. Then, we went to Mont Saint Michel. It is literally a island with a HUGE abbey on top, and very small shops, hotels and restaurants all around it. It was build in the 7^th century, and still houses monks and nuns. They are famous for a restaurant called “la Mere Poulard”, which serves fancy foods, but notably known for their omelets. The omelets go for 30 euro! It is very expensive and touristy, but apparently the best. When we pulled up I literally felt like I was Harry Potter coming back to Hogwarts, it’s beautiful. Because it was an island, and then they built a road for people to visit, everything is crammed onto one piece of land, and it is very steep with lots of stairs. I only got to go about a quarter of the way up, but one of our directors stayed with me and we walked along the beach and he told me a lot about Mont Saint Michel. It was a really long day, and I slept on the bus every time (surprise, surprise), but it was beautiful. I also talked to my friend Caitlin today, from home, and we just planned our spring break! So I will be off to Venice, Rome, and somewhere in the south of Italy in April – very excited. My fam comes in 10 days!

Gypsies in Paris

Day One in Paris:
So we finally arrived in Paris on Thursday morning. Delirious and technically without a place to stay, our friend Clare (who is from Maine!) called us as we are sitting on the runway, wow nous avons la chance! We meet Clare at her friend's apartment and take showers, eat, and take a quick nap. Then we decide to head over to the Musee d'Orsay - but because of a strike (surprise surprise) we are unable to take the bus. So we end up walking, which was great. I have absolutely learned that the best way to learn a city is to walk EVERYWHERE. As we are walking there, my bff from camp, Julia (who is studying in Paris) calls me, and as we are planning to meet up, it turns out as we approach the entrance of the museum I learn she is just leaving ... freaky! We say hello, and plan to meet up later. Then we walk around the impressionism level for 2 hours, which is incredible. I really love Degas, Henri Edouard Cross, and Toulouse-Latrec, all incredibly talented. We then take the bus home, make a delicious (and healthy!) dinner and crash.

Day Two in Paris:
The next morning Emily decides to head back to Rennes and Lindsay and I pack up all our things and head towards the Bastille. We then find our way to the Musee Carnavalet, which is a history museum of Paris. We stay there for some time and get painfully lost looking for the Jewish Quarter. But we finally find it and eat the best falallafel - a recommendation of Lindsay's friend Becca. Afterwords we kill time and buy some challah bread and wine for Julia and her boyfriend, Brayden, for letting us stay with them. On the way to her host mom's apartment, we saw the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and la place de Concorde - it was like a free tour! When we arrived at Julia's the four of us split a couple bottles of wine and talked for almost two hours - it was great conversation and the four of us got along so well. We decided to head out to dinner, we grabbed a quick din and come nutella/banana crepes (but we peaced early due to my sighting of a mouse in the restaurant ...) and then decided to walk to the Republique and grab a drink at Julia's favorite Irish pub - where Julia and Lindsay became bff with the owner, Kevin. We took the night bus home, and were very entertained by the drunken french students on the bus.

Day Three in Paris:
We had the best nights sleep since we have been away - and the four of us wake up late and have challah toast and slowly make our way to the Grand Palais, where we heard there was a two day exhibition of Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Berge. YSL died in June, and we assumed it would be a collection of his clothes - but we were mistaken. It had open at 9 am, and there was already a 4 hour + wait! We chatted with a photographer who was photographing the line of people, which was insane, and who lived in LA. We decided to bag it but moved towards the VIP line to people watch. As we are standing there, the security guys come over and start speaking to us really fast in French, we discovered they were asking if we were in line and that only I could go into the exhibit with one person to accompany me. We stayed silent the whole time, just looking awfully confused, and somehow, the four of us got into this exhibit in 10 minutes! It turned out to be the personal collection of YSL and Pierre Berge, from their home. When I say personal collection, I'm talking furniture from Louis XIV and Louis XV and paintings by Matisse, Picasso, Degas, and Mondrian. Not to mention sculptures from BC. It was absolutely incredible. So 8 rooms and three hours later, we head to grab sandwiches. We eat them in front of the Louvre, by a pond. It is amazing we are here! We continue to walk around, grab pastries in the Latin Quarter, and say our goodbyes. Lindsay and I make our train by seconds but we arrive safely back in Rennes that night. I had such an absolute blast in Paris, and I am so excited to have my family come visit in only a couple weeks. School starts back up tomorrow ... and I'm already ready for my next adventure!

Bienvenido a Sevilla!

Hola! I am back from one of the best vacations I have ever had. Sevilla, Spain is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. Emily, Lindsay, and I did so much in only one week. The first day we arrived around midnight, and as soon as we got off the bus from the airport we were immediately in love. As we walked to our hostel we couldn't stop ooo-ing and ahh-ing at everything. We dropped our bags off at the hostel and went in search of food, as we were absolutely starving. We were walking down the street and ended up passing a tapas bar and Emily's best friend Katie, who is studying in Sevilla, and a friend of mine from Bowdoin, Allie, were sitting in the bar! We were so psyched to run into someone we knew. We had tinto con limon's (red wine and fanta - amazing) and tapas. Then we walked across a bridge to have churros, which is basically friend dough and hot chocolate. Lindsay and I decided to get cold churros, which are basically friend dough, filled with creme, dipped in chocolate, topped with sprinkles. They changed our life. They are absolutely incredible (reason number 1 to move to Sevilla). It had to have been the best Valentine's Day ever. The first night we got no sleep because we had three roommates in the hostel who decided to have a snoring contest at all hours of the night.

(Beautiful view of Sevilla and the river through the middle)

The first day we took a tour of the Cathedral, which is the oldest Gothic cathedral in the world! It is absolutely incredible, and holds the tomb of Christopher Columbus. Lindsay got accosted by a gypsy too - which we learned is really common. What happens is they grab your hands, read your palm in Spanish, make you smell some rosemary, and then demand 5 Euros. Lindsay pretended she didn't have any money, but often they will just straight up steal from you! We took a break and grabbed tapas near by, and split a pitcher of delicious sangria. We then met up with Katie, Allie, and a couple of the other girls who they are studying with, and who are so so nice. They showed us around a bit, including their university and some incredible gardens in the middle of the city. We then grabbed gelato, and sat to enjoy the sunshine. After a shower and a siesta (sidenote: in Spain everything closes from 2-5 so that people can go home and have a nap, reason number 2 to move to Sevilla), we met up with the same girls for Tex-Mex. Then continued to window shop and went to a very cool bar for a quick drink before bed. That night, our snoring roommates continued their competition, so at 3 AM I was all business and moved us to another room so we could FINALLY get some sleep.

(Wow! Christopher Columbus!)
(Tower of Giralda, part of Cathedral)
(Emily and Lindsay in front of the Cathedral's fountain)

The next morning Katie met us in town a little later for some shopping. I legit wanted to buy everything. The jewelry and clothes are incredible. We were all very successful and bought rings, scarves, necklaces, and earrings. We were then able to meet Lindsay's best friend from school, Becca, for sandwiches at a place called El Patio. The smoked salmon sandwiches were kickass - as was the sangria. Becca is absolutely adorable, and she and I were able to talk comedy for a long time which was great. So after lunch Becca had to peace, so obvi Emily, Linds and I kept shopping. We then went back to the hostel for shower/siesta (damn siesta's are amazing) and went back to a bar called Bar Alfalfa for tapas with a boy we had met on the bus from the airport into town - he is from Berlin but studied in Paris and was now studying Spanish in Seville - he brought his Spanish friend who has been living in Seville. The tapas was so good - it was like Italian tapas, so we had fresh caprese salad tapas, and brushetta, done and done. Afterwords, we went to see flamenco at a place called La Carbonoria. Becca came with as she had been there a few times. It was free, with cheap sangria, and it was PACKED. We stayed for a while and watched one guy play the guitar, one guy sing, and a woman dance. It was really fun - OLE.











It is now Tuesday ... We were ALL able to change rooms last night, so we now have a 6 person room with no roommates so it is basically a private room, thank God. We wake up late and get psyched for a breakfast of cold churros. When we get there, they have none! So Lindsay and I settle for hot gaufres con chocolate (hot waffles with chocolate ... wow).

We then head to the Alcázar of Seville, which is a huge walled in palace. The king and queen of Spain still stay there when they visit Seville! It is one of the most incredible places I have ever been. Lindsay and I did an audio tour and learn all about the tiling and each room and what it was used for. We then make it to the gardens, which seem to go on forever. It is an absolutely beautiful day, and we decide to just hang out in the sun for a bit before we move on. We then have tapas lunch behind the Cathedral, a recommendation from one of Lindsay's friends. It is really good (we ended up going back on Wednesday). We then meet Becca at Plaza de Espagne, which is a huge palace looking place with every district or area of Spain tiled into the walls. We continue to walk through Parque Maria Lusia, which again is absolutely beautiful. I have failed to mention that there are palm trees everywhere, and it is about 20 degrees every day ... (that's 68 degrees F fyi). Emily and I go back and siesta while Lindsay hangs out with Becca for the rest of the afternoon. She brings home mini 1 EUR sandwiches for dinner and some wine that we eat in the hostel before going out. We decide this is going to be our big night out - but after a couple bottles of wine and a couple bars, we already need to go home ... it's only 12:30 ... awesome guys.

Wednesday morning was a little rough, but we rallied because we had to check out of the hostel. While Emily went to spend some time with her friend Katie, Lindsay and I made a b-line for the Palace gardens (entrance is free) to take a nap in the sun. We then meet up with Becca, Katie, and Emily for sandwiches at El Patio again. Afterwords, Becca shows us this square in Sevilla where people just hang out and drink one euro beers in the afternoon. When I say everyone, I mean everyone. There are homeless people running around with their dogs, and there are beautiful old women dressed to the nines in fur having an afternoon break from shopping. It is incredible. Then Emily, Linds and I grab gelato and head to the river. We sat/slept in the sun for 3 hours! We had no place to go so we stayed and people watched and watched the sunset. It was the perfect way to end our stay in Seville. We grabbed our bags we had left at the hostel, and Emily met up with Katie for dinner, while Lindsay, Becca, and I went back to one of the tapas places for dinner. This is when our adventure begins ... We walk to meet Emily and say goodbye to Katie and the other girls, and head to the bus stop for a 12:15 bus to the airport. The bus driver is very nice and informs us the airport is closed. So we have checked out of our hostel, we cannot sleep in the airport on account of it being closed, and it's 12:30 in the morning. We walk all the way back to the hostel and convince the receptionist (who barely speaks English) to let the three of us sleep on one couch for 4 hours for free. We hardly sleep, but get back to the bus station around 4:50 and wait for the bus. We make the flight, and PASS OUT on the plane. We have finally arrived back in France, but have our reservations about Paris because a. Seville is absolutely amazing and b. we technically don't have a place to stay and our train home isn't until Saturday.

(Yay for incredible guacamole at Tex-Mex with Emily, Katie and some other girls studying at CIEE Sevilla)
(Fountain/pond at Alcazar)
(Incredible sandwiches at El Patio).
(Cathedral lit up by the sun)

A Bientot!

I have had a great week alone in my house. On Sunday night, Lindsay and I went to a bar in town and listened to a jazz band for three hours! They were amazing. It is really rare that anything is open on Sundays, so it was nice to get out of the house for a bit. It started as two guys playing guitar, then there were three female violinists, a bass player, two more guitarists, a drum player, and two accordions. They would all take turns playing or jumping into the song. It was one of the cooler things I have done here. Also, on Wednesday night, I went to see an improv show at the university. It was a battle of two improv groups, and while it was really hard to understand, it was really funny and really engaging. In the last skit no one could speak French, and everyone had to speak a different language, so there was someone speaking Italian, another speaking English, and another speaking Spanish, only in Europe could you have that happen and a. find people that can fluently speak all of those languages, and b. have the audience and the actors understand each other. Last night I had some friends over and we made dinner and had a dance party before heading out to meet up with some kids from our program in town. We ended up missing the last metro, and had to walk home! I guess that is the best way to see the city!

Also, there were more strikes this week, and the one at the university is getting more and more intense. The students have blockaded the buildings, so you can't even enter. In the building we have our classes, they only let you pass if you prove to them you are an exchange student, as our section of the university is the only part not striking. Hopefully after vacation next week, things will start to calm down.

So I am off to Spain with my friend Lindsay and my friend Emily ... tomorrow! We are taking the train to Paris tomorrow afternoon, and will be eating tapas by 8. We are coming back on Thursday, to spend a few days in Paris, before classes begin again on Monday. I am so excited and I have been practicing my Spanish. I am so excited to travel as I have never been to Spain and haven't traveled yet. So I will write when I get back and be sure to post some pictures.

When in Rennes!

So we have officially started classes. I am taking required classes by the program, along with a Civilization class, France’s Approach to International Relations, and a class at the university, Histoire de la Femme (history of women from the 16^th to 18^th century). The classes aren’t too difficult, the only hard part is figuring out what the professor is saying, as all the classes are in French. My class at the university is interesting but we have only had it a couple times because of the strike. The French LOVE to strike, and two weeks ago there was a national strike which essentially froze the country for an entire day. The metro here is automatic, so we were able to get around, but the buses weren’t running and there were marches and protests all over France. The Civilization class will be interesting because Bretagne is an extremely proud region of France. They really pride themselves on being Breton first and French second. They even have their own language, Breton, which is extremely hard to understand and sounds nothing like French, but more like Gaelic.

I have met some other kids from different programs in Rennes, which is really fun. We are all in the same program because it is the section of the university where everyone who is learning French takes classes. So I have both college kids and adults from all over the world in my classes, Iran, England, Brazil, China, Sweden, etc. It is very cool because our common language is French, so we are forced to speak to each other in a foreign language.

Last weekend my friend Lindsay’s host family took us up about an hour north to a town called Cancale. They are famous for their oysters, and even though it isn’t the season, we were still able to be by the ocean and see the oyster traps, which was amazing. Her family is really sweet, and they have two young girls, 7 and 9, who are adorable and very into Harry Potter. (Below are pictures).

My host family has left for their vacation for two weeks, so this week I have the house to myself which has been wonderful. People don’t eat eggs here, so the first thing I

did this morning was make a ham and cheese omelet and toast, which has never tasted so good. I have also been going to a film festival here in Rennes. There is a film festival here every year called Traveling, and there is a different focus each year. This year it is Jerusalem, so half the movies focus on Israel and the other half on Palestine. So far I have seen Checkpoint, a documentary about the Gaza strip boarder control, and Valse avec Bashir (Waltz with Bashir), which is an animated film about the Lebanon war. If anyone gets a chance to see the second one I highly recommend it. It was very intense but incredible.

Weekends, meaning Thursday nights, have been really fun here. Two weeks ago we went out to the best crepes I’ve ever had in town, and then met up with some French boys we had met at a bar called Bonne Nouvelle. They have an English-speaking party there every Thursday night. After that we went dancing at a discothèque for one of the boys’ birthdays, which was a blast. This past Thursday night, a bunch of us bought appetizers and wine after class and went to our friend Helen’s for the night. We had guacamole and chips, bread and cheese, and ham/smoked salmon/and apples – it was an incredible feast. The wine we had was a red Beaujolais which is only 2-3 euros here, but much more expensive in the states.

I was also lucky to have a visitor this weekend! Because a day trip to Mont Saint Michel was postponed one of my best friends from Camp Huckins, Julia, who is studying in Paris came down for the night. We had a gre

at time going out to dinner and drinks on Friday night, then I showed her around on Saturday, and we went to the market and walked all around Rennes. She only stayed until that night but I will see her again in two weeks when I am in Paris after my vacation to Spain.

I also found out my family is coming in March! I am very excited to see them and show them around Rennes, and impress them with my French. I will hopefully write again before Spain! Please continue to send me updates and emails!

Bisous,

Emma