Bonjour Paris!

Pictures from Brussels

Tuesday (Day 1 in Paris)

Paris is cold and we are southern wimps. Turns out our only sunny day didn’t work out that way. Living in Georgia, I think we forgot what 50 degrees actually feels like. We most definitely did not pack warm enough clothing. The morning started off at the Eiffel Tower. They recommend arriving when the tower opens, at 9:30am. We did arrive at that time and there was already a pretty long line. As it turns out, one of the elevators is also broken. So, we stood in line for 1 hour. Then the wind picked up and it started to rain. To say that we were freezing doesn’t even begin to cover it.  At the 2 hour mark, we finally had our ticket to the top of the Eiffel tower in hand and we were in the elevator. The first part of the ride takes you 75% of the way to the top. It was so cold and rainy up there that we literally stepped out of the center of the building, snapped two photos, and ran back inside. We didn’t want to go to the very top. Sadly, I feel like we really didn’t get to enjoy seeing everything because we were Parisian popsicles! I think we’re going to go back one night to see the tower in lights.

Since the rain continued, we bough a 2 day pass on the big red bus that tours around Paris and you can hop on and off whenever you want. It was perfect because we got to see a ton of Paris that we just wouldn’t have been able to cover in 4 days. The entire bus tour takes 2.5 hours so we did part of it and then got off to have lunch at a café. We had a delicious Croque Monsieur and a nutella and banana crepe for dessert! Yum! Then we paid another 0.20 euro each to use the bathroom and then we were off to see the Arc de Triumph. All of the architecture of the buildings is so amazing. And having the Seine river run down the middle of city is beautiful. After the Arc we walked down Champs Elysees which is mostly tons of shops. We went to Laduree which is a patisserie that specializes in macarons – they are the best in Paris! They make like 20 different flavors, all pretty traditional (lemon, orange, chocolate, pistachio, etc). We tried a few different flavors and they were all delicious! The rain and wind had died down and it was actually much warmer so it was okay to walk around. On Champs Elysees there is everything from H&M to Dior. We got a cute outfit for the peanut and a sweatshirt for the rest of the week (not from Dior)!

I think so far my favorite part is all the cute cafes and getting French snacks all day J. Nashama’s favorite is Laduree. With the rain and cold we didn’t get as much accomplished as we had hoped, but it was a fun day overall.  Tomorrow we are going to do the Louvre and Notre Dame in the morning. Stay tuned…

Dessert count: 2

Nashama’s ankles: still swollen.

Day 1: Amsterdam and Brussels and Paris, oh my!

With no internet on my computer in England, I wasn’t successful in updating my blog. To give you a brief idea, here was the rundown of my week:

Skate, eat, meeting, eat, ref, eat, sleep.

Repeat for 7 days.

Now that you’re caught up…

Nashama and I easily found each other in the Amsterdam airport and we boarded the train for a 3 hour ride to Brussels. First order of business, water closet (bathroom), which had a 0.50 Euro fee. I always find the bathroom entrance fee a bit weird.

My French is okay, not great. I can talk in present tense, but definitely not in future or past tense. For example, I can easily ask for a crepe with nutella and banana (je voudrais un crepe avec nutella et banana s’il vous plait) but I can’t say tomorrow we are going to the Eiffel tower. I’m pretty sure sometimes I also mix up the verbs “am” and “have”. But, although pretty embarrassing, usually I can muddle through the day with my broken French.

So, when trying to find baggage check, I told a women, “Today we walk. I don’t want to walk with my clothes. Is there a place I can move my clothes for 1 day”? Then, the problem is that people respond and that’s where I really lose them. They just talk too fast for me to comprehend. So I just smile and nod, say merci, and walk away no more informed than I was when I started.  Nashama just laughs.

Outside of the station, we went to the Grande Place which is this beautiful square with huge imposing buildings that have amazing architecture. A lot of the buildings have gold trim, which makes them sparkle in the sunlight (not that we saw any).
We headed to a café for lunch. I had delicious sausage and mashed potatoes, and an amazing cherry beer. Nashama had a warm goat cheese salad and a bottle of water that cost as much as my beer.  Sadly, the weather is not great. It’s really cold (50 degrees) with wind and rain. Even though we looked at the forcast, I don’t think we packed warm enough clothes. We were freezing most of the day.

This part of Brussels is about 100% tourists so we walked around tons of chocolatiers and souvenir shops. Of course, we had a Belgian waffle with nutella and some french fries, both of which were amazing.

Next we went to the most famous statue in Brussels called Manekin Pis, which is an underwhelming bronze statue of a young naked boy urinating into a fountain. Odd. Around the city they have also have a statue of a young girl urinating and a dog lifting its leg. I guess they’re equal opportunity.

I’ve decided to keep a running tally of how many crepes/waffles/anything with nutella I can eat in 1 week. I’m betting on at least 1 per day, which puts me in the 6-8 range. So delicious.

So, now we’re back at the Brussels train station waiting for our train to Paris. Nashama is beyond tired (she’s been up for almost 27 hours at this point) and her ankles…let’s just say they’re a bit swollen and resemble what I had for lunch.

Our plans for tomorrow include….actually…we’re not sure. Tomorrow is going to be our only rain-free day here so I think it’ll be up the Eiffel tower and maybe a boat tour down the Seine River so we can enjoy the sunshine.

We had a great first day! To be continued…

Dessert total: 1

Testing, testing, 1...2...3...4. Testing.

Well folks, it's been awhile. Almost 3 years since my last post.
I'm of to England to officiate the Women's World Championships. Then, I'll be taking a week long vacation in eastern Europe. I thought I'd try to blog and post some pictures again this year of both the tournament and vacation afterward.
I hope you enjoy.
Now I have to go pack!
My flight leaves Atlanta at 5pm tonight!

Whirlwind update

I know it's been too long. Way, way, inexcusably too long. So here's the latest.

Took my boards, hope i passed. Find out in Feb. Signed up for Match (internships). Find out in March. Hopefully in Rhode Island. Made 200 cookies with Nashama. Ate way too many of them. Had a good Hannukah. Got weird animal gifts including a pig carved out of wood. Actually, fake wood. It's really plastic. Finished school. Off til' Monday (1/5), going to be living in DE for 2 weeks with my parents and commuting to New Bolton (large animal farm). Hope i don't get killed by Dr. Richardson. (Note to self - must read up on american history and the differences between hay and straw). Finally got to see the Olson's, minus Margit who's away and i haven't seen in WAY too long. Went to the charcoal pit with Andrew and Lucy and Bean. No clown sundae. Made green slime. Lucy said she "vaguely remembered the kids from her previous experiences at the YMCA". I love her. Clark is great. He's learning new tricks and wreaking havoc. I miss everyone. I've been MIA/at work/Red Bank.

ummm...I think that about sums it up.

Check please

I was giving a dog a rectal exam at work. This is a normal part of every dog's exam. The dog behaved and when I was done I said to the dog, "see, it wasn't that bad."
The owner replied, "Can I come see you for my exams?"

No sir, I'm sorry. I believe my appointments are all booked.

Undercover

I went to synogague on Friday night with my Grandma. I walked up to her when she was talking to another woman, probably in her 80's. "Oh, is this your grandson?" she asks. "No, this is my grandaughter, Andrea", my grandma says. "Oh, how nice your grandson", the woman says. "Do you know my daughter Eva? This is her daughter, Andrea", my grandma says. At this point I interrupt and introduce myself and again say that my name is Andrea. The woman looks back at me says and says, "well it's nice to meet your grandson!".

Then, not five minutes later, a man comes up and starts talking my grandma. He says to me, "Ya know, I have a grandson about your age, maybe a year older. How old are you? 16?" I start to laugh. "14?" he guesses. "Actually, I'm 26" I tell him. "Oh, well my grandson looks just about your age. I guess he looks old for his age too."

I give up.

What do you get when you mix 2 ducks and a cow?

I'm out at NewBolton Center which is the large animal farm. I definitely out of my element here. I don't have cool leather boots, or belts with horseshoes on them, or even a horse tattoo. The days are long and hard, but I must admit that I love being outside and its definitely a challenge! So far I have two patients -

Mr. Thompson. He is a 15 year old 1,500lb horse. He has chronic eye problems and had surgery and will be here for awhile. He's nice. But scary. Mostly because we weighs 1,500lbs! He's very sweet and we go for walks around the farm.

Tracey. She is a 7 year old Holstein-Fresian cow (black and white spots). She is weak on her feet and can't get up when she falls. So, she's been in a pool for the week. It's called the Aqua Cow. It's a portable tank that looks kind of like a horse trailer that fills up with water and she can stand in the tank. So she's in this tank outside with a tarp over her head to keep her out of the sun. Plus she has two rubber ducks floating with her to keep her company. Sadly, when we take her out of the tank and she falls, we have to use a forklift to get her back up. It's definitely a huge process. But she's also sweet.

Other random things I've seen - a few goats, alpacas, foals. Lots of cute baby things. but they all weigh way too much to really play with. I miss my cats and dogs.

And...to finish the joke...when I was little I told this joke ALL the time. Apparently I thought it was hilarious and cracked myself up whenever I told it:
What do you get when you mix 2 ducks and a cow? Quakers and milk!! (I know...try to contain yourself!)