Tuesday, May 17th

Today was a good day in my real life. I have some exciting things to share with everyone if they all work out, but for now, I will just share my third day in Lubbock.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Today was much better. Rested and started off great. We took the metro today which was very easy to navigate but everyone else seemed to have a hard time with it. We went to the Yves Saint Laurent Foundation adn tho the Linen Dream Lab. Both were very interesting. Then we went to lunch-pizza. 
Then off to buy tickets for the Moulin Rouge (which was sold out) and on the way I learned that my Uncle Todd passed away this morning. It is so very hard to be away from everyone right now. Mom is flying out tonight to join Dad and the memorial service will be on Friday. I lit a candle for him when we went to the Sacre Couer at Mont Marte today and said a prayer for him.
Mont Marte (which means Mountain Market in French) was lovely but all of Paris is very tourist-y to me. Chntal and I got crepes and a little caricature drawn. 

Inside Yves Saint Laurent, pictures were not allowed, but all of his old famous works were beautiful. I got several of his posters that he designs yearly. At the Linen Dream Lab we learned all sorts of new developments like stretchy and waterproof linen fabric. We also met an up and coming designer Alex Mabille. He designed underneath Dior for 10 years and then started his own house. Here is his website. He was quite full of himself, but apparently he is talented.

The Moulin Rouge was different than I thought. It was obviously in a red light district (which when visited by day was mainly touristy, although some places we walked by were XXX) but it was not as "old red windmill-y" as I expected. And the tickets were actually sold out until next February. A sketchy walk and metro ride were not worth it.

And it was hard to be away from home and everyone else when Uncle Todd died.

The Mont Marte was beautiful. To get up to the little village and chapel, Sacre Couer, there was a steep incline of endless stairs. There was also a trolley but it cost 6euros to ride and after a day spent on expensive food, we all took the stairs. Bad idea, but I did lose 4 pounds on the trip and 3.5 of them could be attributed to those stairs.

Sacre Couer was simple and beautiful. Mont Marte was hilly and touristy, but had a beautiful view of the city. It also had fantastic crepes and sweet little ivy covered houses.

 

My small group that we had to find when we did things like get on the metro

 

The YSL Foundation 

 

A cool door near YSL

 

Gina, Amber, Chantal and I

 

Just me

 

At the Linen Dream Lab waiting for our meeting

 

Designer Alex Mabille

 

Le Moulin Rouge

 

The windmill it is famous for...just wasn't as cool.

 

The stairs up to Mont Marte. You can only see some of them. 

 

But here is the view of Paris once we made it up.

 

The chapel of Sacre Couer.

 

Chantal and I on Mont Marte

 

A funny picture of the devil pigeons that had no fear in Paris. 

 

Me and Mont Marte. I've shed layers of clothing by now because we expected it to be cold and it was not. 

 

One of the many boulangerie's (bakery) on Mont Marte.

 

Chantal and I had our caricature done like true tourists. Ha.

 

Strolling the little mountain market streets.These were my favorite houses. I wonder who gets to live here?

 

Eating a nutella and banana crepe I'm sure.

 

La Masion Rose (the Pink House). Some restaurant patrons waved when they saw me take pictures.

 

By the market's square

 

Finally, this is a picture of some of the graffitti we saw making our way back down to the metro. Paris is covered in graffiti, which could be interesting and cool, but it is mostly amateurs. These were the best looking we saw. Sad really.

Always,

Hannah

Monday 5/16/2011

Again, I am transcribing this entry directly from the journal I kept while I was on my trip.

Monday 5/16/11

It is 8:48 p.m. in Paris. Today we basically got straight off the plane, onto a bus, to our quaint little hotel with twin mattresses and spiral staircases covered with old purple carpeting, then straight to our activities. We grabbed lunch at a cafe. I had a jambon et fromage ( ham and cheese) sandwich. Then we got groceries at a Carrefour City store around the corner. We were all falling asleep, but I took a quick nap on the floor of two other girls' rooms since mine and Chantal's room had yet to be assigned. Then we were off to a boat tour on the Seine River. The cold air and beautiful bridges woke me up and made me able to stay awak for our dinner at Chez Francoise at the Air France building downtown. We had eggplant which everyone at my table could not choke down, then chicken with potatoes, and poached pears with ice cream. Chantal and I also ordered a glass of red wine which was spicy and strong. Our waiter was young (22 ish) and seemed very embarrassed because he could barely speak English. But who cares? We are the ones who can't speak French in France.
This morning when I was tired and we were walking around the area of Paris where our hotel was located, I was not impressed. It seemed dirty & crowded and the men were lewd, making breast grabbing gestures at our group.  Once we went on the boat tour and saw the nicer parts of Paris, I was much more enthralled with the potential of Paris. The buildings are old and beautiful with cafes at every corner and adorable French couples cuddling and kissing by the Seine and on the sidewalks. I loved seeing the bridge where couples bring little padlocks and "lock their love on the bridge for eternity and throw the key into the Seine" according to our boat tour guide. Oh Paris, je t'aime!

 

On the boat tour

 

My roommate, Chantal and I, on the streets of Paris

 

On the boat tour, our first view of the Eiffel Tower

 

Some of the old architecture on the banks of the Seine

 

One of the love lock bridges

 

Off the boat and standing in front of the Eiffel

 

A glass of wine at Chez Francoise, after a loooong 36+ hours being awake. We fell asleep at 7:30 that night. Best sleep of my life. 

 
 Always,
Hannah

The Beginnings of My Trip- Sunday 5/15/11

Hello Everyone. If anyone can remember, I told you all about a trip I was taking to Europe the last two weeks in May. When I got back I went straight into taking two classes, working two jobs, and being a counselor at Fashion Camp. If you convince me, I might tell you all about it sometime, but first I thought I might catch up on my trip...even if it is two months later. It is better than three. I thought the best way for me to tell this tale would be to copy what I wrote in my travel journal with a few blanks and some pictures added as well.

Sunday 5/15/2011
We are traveling to Paris today. Lubbock to Houston, a 6 hour layover, then a flight to Charles de Gaulle. I'm having a hard time because Uncle Todd is basically dying this week. It's rough, but I'm trying to enjoy this trip.

A reminder for Old Lady Hannah: I'm traveling with 30+ girls and Dr. Fowler for an International Retailing class after my second full year of college.

11:10 p.m. CST or 6:10 a.m. in Paris
We're  about 2 hours from touching down already. The flight has been good but long since I can't sleep well on planes. I'm sitting between two women. One just sleeps and the other is a sweet Ukrainian woman who was visiting her son in Houston while he works at a research hospital for a year. She teared up a little when she said she would miss him. She also speaks 4 languages. Ukrainian, Polish, Russian & English. When I asked her if she thought in Ukrainian and translated to English, she said no, she is basically fluent. She laughed when she told me how she didn't realize "How are ya?" (in a Texas accent) was a way of saying hello. Her name is Galina and she is so very naturally beautiful and has kind eyes. She told me I did not look very American and that she could see the Norwegian and Swedish in me. She also said it "does not matter if you are Swedish, Ukrainian, or American as long as what is inside is good." Perfect travel companion.

So here is a plane photo. My right eye really starts to show the sleeplessness.

Tomorrow is Paris. Get excited.

Always,
Hannah

Alive

I just wanted to do a quick post that I am alive. My trip to Europe was incredibly fun and crazy and exhausting. When I got back I jumped right into two summer classes and 30+ hours of work each week, so I just haven't found the time to dedicate to blogging. One more week and I should start recounting the trip. I thought I would do a quick 10 minute post so everyone would know that I haven't kicked the bucket.

 

Through all of the business, N and I had not been on a date in at least 6 weeks. Friday, we changed that and headed to a quaint little restaurant called Manna. The food was delicious and as N said "I always pick the better meal." So true.

I'll be back on soon.

Always,
Hannah

Mature?

I have more important things to do right now than blog. I've had a lot more grown up/saving money/managing my time decisions lately. Example: Tonight everyone is going out to karaoke and I had to opt out because I have to work at both of my jobs tomorrow and I have class. Apparently all of this maturity has made me want to do something exciting. So I pierced my nose and cut off my hair. Please enjoy all of the closeups and badly lit/exposed pictures.

Always,
Hannah

Girl's Night Out

Tomorrow I get to go home, but first I have to make it through the day. I have work at David's Bridal, then straight to school, then straight to training at my new job. See, I thought "Gee Hannah, you aren't busy. You don't go to school all day long. You love Gap. You should definitely accept the job offer you got from the employee who knows your name since you're in there that often." So that's what I did. I have training from 6-10pm then N is driving us both to our hometown. We'll be driving nice and late.

Last week, when I had just one job, my friend Erica took all of her friends out for a nice dinner. Like $15 a plate nice. I'm pretty sure I can get five $3 taco meals at Rosa's Tortilla Cafe for that price. Her dad was in town and he payed. It was delicious and a ton of fun to get all dressed up and go out before finals started to loom.

I can't wait to go home this weekend. First time since Christmas! I hope you all have a very blessed Easter weekend.

Always,
Hannah

A Month Late and A (lot of) Dollar Short

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...there was a cousin named Mikey who visited his favorite cousin in Lubbock. Cousin Hannah was trying to convince Cousin Mikey to move to Lubbock so that he could meet a nice West Texas girl and settle down. She took him all around Tech's campus, and he met her and N's friends, and ate at delicious places like Raising Canes. He also drove with N and Hannah to see his other cousin, Caitlin, on her 21st birthday. He bought her her most favorite present ever. He's basically a goofball and likes to make ridiculous faces with Cousin Hannah whilst wearing ridiculous hats. Then he left and Cousin Hannah got sad and took a month to write this post.

 

I'm really glad Mikey visited and I really do hope he comes out to Tech for grad school. Lubbock needs more of my family's genes.

Always,
Hannah