The elevator had a cool ceiling.
Home sweet home! This place was AMAZING. A couple from America owns it, but they only use it a few weeks a year and rent it out the rest of the time.
It really felt like home! It had a washer/dryer, dishwasher, wi-fi, what more could you wish for?
Euro-sized fridge/freezer.
Boardgames and toys.
Page's room and huge bed.
The kids room was perfect for me and Jess.
Like I said before, just like home!
Class with Scalia continued...whether or not my reading for class continued will remain privileged information.
matching cups
omelette provençale
and the weeknights begin...Happy Bastille Day Eve!!
They have nightly light shows set to music at the Strasbourg Cathedral.
It's pretty cool...
We probably watched for about 10 minutes.
Then it all starts to look the same which is when you know it's time to move on.
We met up with everyone at Zanzibar. It still amazes me how we are able to coordinate ourselves enough sans cellphones to arrange group outings. fb, gchat, & bbm are wonderful!
Jylan, Scotty, Nick, Alexia (one of our Strasbourg guides), Alyssa
I don't know what kind of beer we kept ordering, but it was really good and really cheap. It tasted a little like Peach?
Hawaii girls...Kasmira just found out she got into Boston University so she's transferring there next year! Congrats, we'll miss you!
Yet another Jess 'n Jenn pic.
sour face!
Amy without JenB, what? :)
I don't normally throw up shakas, but how often do you get to use them in France?
Hey down there!
I'm still not sure why she took her shoes off...but I do know I was chasing her with my camera saying, "Pay back, bitch!"
I just asked her, "Jess, why did you take your shoes off that night?" Her response was, "Oh, because it was raining..."
As Page clearly demonstrates...it is possible to walk in the rain with "shoes" on. Just saying.
Class at 8:30am was really fun the next day. We spent the whole afternoon sleeping so that we would be ready to go for the Bastille/bday festivities!
Page and Jess slaved away in the kitchen to cook my birthday dinner for all of us!
I didn't lift a finger the entire time (love you girls!) but this picture gives the illusion that I contributed a little ;).
Page found an Asian market closeby and did a make-your-own-sushi spread.
Sriracha
This was JessC's first time trying "seaweed" y'all!
Look Aunty Trish, Jess knows how to use the stove!
reppin' Valparaiso!
You Texans crack me up!
salad, fried chicken, vegetable stir-fry, rice...so yummy!
Page back in the kitchen working on dessert.
homemade bananas foster over caramel ice cream=happiness
Lisa & Korosh made it too! These two got engaged on the way to The Hague at the start of the program. They are going to have a very happy life together :). I can't wait to visit them in LA!
Utilizing the picnic table.
And the VAB. Well done everybody...eyes open AND big smiles all around!
On our way out to catch the Bastille Day Fireworks show! I like to think that they actually put it on for my birthday.
Jess thought ahead and grabbed the chips to bring with us.
I tried out the fireworks setting on my camera.
JenP and Ali
More of the group.
The fireworks setting wasn't anything special, so I went back to the regular. The classic white fireworks are my favorite!
We watched them from the center of Petite France.
We tried to recreate the moment we first met Jen and Amy. Amy offered me a piece of gum and when Jess and I said we'd split it, she told us we could have a whole one. Friends 4 lyf!!
People were all dressed up doing theatrical stuff on the street. Not really sure what was going on...just took a picture for the heck of it.
We made a quick stop back at our place to grab umbrellas (and gchat?) and eat chicken flavored chips. We've decided that they taste like a combo of Costco chicken and stuffing.
Jen pics are always fun!
Flip Mode.
We soon figured out that none of us can ever share an umbrella with Justin.
We eventually made our way to the Dubliner where JenB and Amy were waiting.
I missed the "wear stripes" memo.
Math Major!
What? We have class at 8:30 tomorrow morning?
Awwww...even my reflection in the background can't ruin their cuteness.
Making friends!
We love Lisa!
Singin' in the raaaain
Thanks for sharing your umbrella friend!
So there was a homeless person that slept on the basement stairs of our building every night. I tried to take a picture, but wasn't very successful. The building manager assured us that they were "not dangerous." It's a pretty good deal for them if you ask me!
Class was really fun again the next day of course! Everyone got dressed up for my birthday :). Ok fine, so maybe it was because we had a reception and picture taking with Justice Scalia after class. There he is, rockin' the suspenders during one of his smoke breaks. Not gonna lie...we contemplated buying a pack of cigs just to pretend we were smokers so we could go chat with him during a break like some of our classmates did!
The whole gang with Scalia.
JessC has the official version of this on her camera but she hasn't uploaded them yet. These are just teasers.
UH Law with Scalia!
Different angle.
Some people got him to sign things. That's Christopher on the left and Gianluca on the right. They basically run the program and they're both pretty cool guys!
Scalia's wife is in the brown. She had 9 kids!
Jess was smart enough to get her course materal signed by Scalia!
Professor Nanda is our International Environment Law Prof and the nicest man ever. He's our favorite and he's coming UH for a talk in August!
JenP is originally from Hawaii too so she had to get in on it!
The girls...I wish this could be real life!
The Strasbourg Cathedral by day.
We needed a gelato break after being stuck in a suit all morning and found a place that serves it up like a flower. This is Jylan's.
We napped the rest of the day. We're fully embracing the life of study-abroad students, what else can I say? The extra sleep was critical because we had a Penn State sponsored dinner reception at Au-Pont Saint-Martin in honor of Justice Scalia that night. Great way to spend my birthday!
We got to choose a salad, entree, and dessert...oh yea and a drink...thanks Penn State! (I'm pretty sure we paid for this ourselves in the fees but oh well).
sillies
Sneaky pics with Scalia in the background.
Page, you really need to change your name ot something that starts with a J.
I chose the carafe of wine to be my "one drink" on Penn State...happy birthday to me!
This pic gives my secret away...I stole a bunch of these from JenP's album!
Duck Salad
Munster Salad
Salmon Salad
your turn
our turn
Trout
It wasn't de-boned so Page had to help me out. My dad always does it for me so I don't know how to do it! I'm so spoiled :/ haha.
Mixed Grill
Chicken
The Duke did his thing and presented Scalia with a tie from Florence.
He looks thrilled!
This was Scalia's sidekick during class. He made some pretty funny jokes...tough tacos!
Creme brulee for dessert.
Some of the other tables.
We took up the entire lower level of the restaurant.
A bunch of the Penn Staters.
The back room away from the canal.
Cheers!
It was rainy again when we got out.
But that didn't stop us from bar hopping.
Jess, Jen, Corey, Lynn, Becky, and 1/2 of Nick.
Mahrosh, Dey, JessC, JD
The Nicks from Florida!
Divas :)
Mosquito!
1 euro tequila shots anyone?
It started getting crowded...mostly with our friends.
Professor Corn's daughter Gillian gearing up for her Freshman year at ASU!
I wanted to try this from McDonalds from the day we got into Strasbourg and finally got to on our last night. It had vanilla ice cream, strawberries, and some kind of crumble on top. So glad I caved and bought it!
We thought about it & realized that we did a poor job of seeing anything besides the inside of our apartments, the university, and random bars/restaurants in Strasbourg. We decided to go on the canal boat ride on our last night to fix that. Better late than never! We got tickets for the open-air boat...it was 4 euro for students...sucha deal!
With our cool headphones. I love the audio guides that tell me what I'm looking at!
Jylan, Alyssa, and Becky got tickets for the same ride.
JessC and JD took to long getting their train tickets to go to The Tour de France so their tickets were for the next boat. Boo.
It was about 10pm...and it was still sort of light outside!
The setting was beautiful.
We passed the restaurant we had eaten at with Scalia the night before!
We also passed a wedding party...here's the new bride!
I think the audio said that this is the most photographed building in Strasbourg. I just googled it to see if I could find any supporting evidence for this statement and found this which kind of confirms it?
Lovin' the reflection of everything on the water.
The European Parliament. The European Court of Human Rights is also located in Strasbourg.
There was a Waikiki bar right next to the tram stop we went to every morning.
Late night dinner at the Hippo. Jess was waiting for us in the square this whole time and we had no idea because we couldn't get a hold of her. Oops, sorry again Jess!
We headed for Salzburg after 2 hours of class the next morning. The bus ride was a long one...I believe we left at 1030am and didn't arrive until 8 or 9 at night? Most of us slept for a good portion of the beginning. Wine bottles started opening and music from our laptops started blasting at about the 7th hour mark.
JenB rocked this awesome shirt the whole trip there. When I asked her about it, she said that her college mascot was the troll. Love her and love this shirt!
3 out of 4 weeks down! Our 2nd week in Strasbourg was so fun--perhaps even too fun?? We got to know a lot more of our classmates and all of them are really cool. Mom, just to warn you, I've invited about 60 people to come stay with us when they come to Hawaii.
Au revoir France, it's been fun...Austria, here we come!
xx
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