So apparently in my super short post I forgot to mention that I did make it back safely to Grenoble, in spite of the stupid SNCF (French railway company) and their stupid more-than-two-week strike. I actually got back on Sunday.
Also, a not-so-happy update on my knee:
I had my MRI on monday, and it turns out that I tore my ACL. That means that I will have to have surgery this summer, and then have 6 months or so of rehab before I'm ready to get back to dancing and being sportive. That has been a real bummer for me, as many of you know that dancing is one of my favorite things in the world, and going almost a year without it will be hard. Also it's hard because it has been so incredibly beautiful outside. The mountains are still white with snow, but the rest of Grenoble is lush and green, and covered in flowers! Of course, that just makes me want to go hiking or take a bike ride, both of which are not options for me at the moment :P
I'm doing my best to handle it, but would really appreciate all the encouragement I can get. One thing I know will make me feel better is we're going to Nice (how nice!) for the weekend, and we leave tomorrow morning! I plan on coming back as tan as possible for a white girl who doesn't tan, and I will at least get my feet wet in the Mediterranean (we've been warned that it's freeeeeezing cold at the moment). I thought about going over to Monaco for a few hours, but apparently it's like the European version of Orange County- just a bunch of big houses, and no real nice architecture. The beach is the same, but instead there are tons of yuppies driving around in huge SUVs..... not that interested!
I'll have another update soon!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
How To Get A 4 Star Hotel Room For Free
Or, How I Earned The Name Hobblestiltskins
Basically this is going to be a super short update of my life in the past 2 weeks!
To start with, a quick story of how I hurt my knee:
I went skiing at Alpe d'Huez with my friend Gaëlle. Alpe d'Huez is indeed where they climb the famous 21 curves during the Tour de France. We drove those curves, and the whole time I kept wondering what kind of crazy person bikes up that mountain. We got our passes. We went up the mountain. It was white everywhere. I couldn't tell the difference between the sky and the ground up there at 3200 meters (just googled that, and it's about 10,500 feet). I fell, and heard 3 cracks in my knee (yes, I still cringe every time I say that). I couldn't get up, so the ski patrol came and rescued me. I went down the mountain on one of those stretcher-ski thingys. I was still in shock, and so I thought it was rather amusing! I got to the doctor's office about an hour and a half after the fall. She examined my knee (not very nicely I might add) and said that I've pulled some ligaments, but we have to wait for the MRI to see for sure how bad it is. (My MRI is tomorrow!)
I'm now wearing a knee brace, and hobbling around (hence the names hobblestiltskins, stumpy, and hop-along, courtesy of Lauri and Alastair) but I hope to be back to normal soon!
Story #2
My trip to the Netherlands
My trip was awesome. There is no other way to put it. I went and stayed with Lauri and Alastair (cousins) at Alastair's parents' house in Hoorn (north of Amsterdam). We toured the city, went to Tim (Alastair's brother) and Simone's wedding, went to a cheese market, saw a ridiculous amount of cute houses and windmills, and noticed quite frequently that "the water on that side of the road is higher than on this side!" I had a blast, even though I did get tired a lot while hobbling along.
Then I went to see my friend Nancy in Maastricht, in the very south of Holland. We ate a bunch of typical dutch food, and toured Maastricht (claimed as the oldest Dutch city) and hung out with her boyfriend and their friends. Dutch people are very nice, speak excellent english, and are very tall.
Story #3, or How To Get A 4 Star Hotel Room For Free
So I arrived at the airport on thursday rather early, and was completely shocked to find that my flight was canceled. I had even more of a shock when I realized that EVERY flight was canceled for the day!
Me: What on EARTH???
Man standing next to me: What on EARTH??
long pause...
Man standing next to me: OH! Iceland....
Me: Iceland???
two minutes later, I overhear that there is a volcano going off in Iceland (who knew?!) and that it had created this lovely cloud of ash that closed down airspace all across Europe. So I went and talked to EasyJet, and they gave me a voucher for a hotel- turns out it was a 4 star hotel and I got a huge room with a king size bed and huge bathroom all to myself! I also got free meals! So then I was able to explore Brussels some, and had a blast :)
Basically this is going to be a super short update of my life in the past 2 weeks!
To start with, a quick story of how I hurt my knee:
I went skiing at Alpe d'Huez with my friend Gaëlle. Alpe d'Huez is indeed where they climb the famous 21 curves during the Tour de France. We drove those curves, and the whole time I kept wondering what kind of crazy person bikes up that mountain. We got our passes. We went up the mountain. It was white everywhere. I couldn't tell the difference between the sky and the ground up there at 3200 meters (just googled that, and it's about 10,500 feet). I fell, and heard 3 cracks in my knee (yes, I still cringe every time I say that). I couldn't get up, so the ski patrol came and rescued me. I went down the mountain on one of those stretcher-ski thingys. I was still in shock, and so I thought it was rather amusing! I got to the doctor's office about an hour and a half after the fall. She examined my knee (not very nicely I might add) and said that I've pulled some ligaments, but we have to wait for the MRI to see for sure how bad it is. (My MRI is tomorrow!)
I'm now wearing a knee brace, and hobbling around (hence the names hobblestiltskins, stumpy, and hop-along, courtesy of Lauri and Alastair) but I hope to be back to normal soon!
Story #2
My trip to the Netherlands
My trip was awesome. There is no other way to put it. I went and stayed with Lauri and Alastair (cousins) at Alastair's parents' house in Hoorn (north of Amsterdam). We toured the city, went to Tim (Alastair's brother) and Simone's wedding, went to a cheese market, saw a ridiculous amount of cute houses and windmills, and noticed quite frequently that "the water on that side of the road is higher than on this side!" I had a blast, even though I did get tired a lot while hobbling along.
Then I went to see my friend Nancy in Maastricht, in the very south of Holland. We ate a bunch of typical dutch food, and toured Maastricht (claimed as the oldest Dutch city) and hung out with her boyfriend and their friends. Dutch people are very nice, speak excellent english, and are very tall.
Story #3, or How To Get A 4 Star Hotel Room For Free
So I arrived at the airport on thursday rather early, and was completely shocked to find that my flight was canceled. I had even more of a shock when I realized that EVERY flight was canceled for the day!
Me: What on EARTH???
Man standing next to me: What on EARTH??
long pause...
Man standing next to me: OH! Iceland....
Me: Iceland???
two minutes later, I overhear that there is a volcano going off in Iceland (who knew?!) and that it had created this lovely cloud of ash that closed down airspace all across Europe. So I went and talked to EasyJet, and they gave me a voucher for a hotel- turns out it was a 4 star hotel and I got a huge room with a king size bed and huge bathroom all to myself! I also got free meals! So then I was able to explore Brussels some, and had a blast :)
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Le Poisson d'Avril
So, this is just a quick note to let you all know that I'm actually not coming back to Texas after I finish in France. Instead, I've decided that I'm going to take another couple of years, and go live in Iraq. I think I will have a good time there! Papaw, no need to worry: I've heard that it's actually quite a lovely place to live, and very safe.
NOT!!!
haha, April fools! Or as you say in France, "Poisson d'avril!" (this translates directly as april fish). In fact, the tradition of April Fool's started in France in 1564, when Charles IX decided to change the date of the new year from April 1 to January 1. People joked around with this though, and used the day to give out fake gifts to each other. Also, in April, you're not allowed to fish (they're reproducing) but in the middle ages, people thought it would be funny to throw fake fish in the rivers to taunt the fishermen. These days, french children use the day to try and stick a paper fish on other peoples' backs (especially their teachers'!)
I hope you're all doing well, and have a happy April Fool's!
Love,
Em
NOT!!!
haha, April fools! Or as you say in France, "Poisson d'avril!" (this translates directly as april fish). In fact, the tradition of April Fool's started in France in 1564, when Charles IX decided to change the date of the new year from April 1 to January 1. People joked around with this though, and used the day to give out fake gifts to each other. Also, in April, you're not allowed to fish (they're reproducing) but in the middle ages, people thought it would be funny to throw fake fish in the rivers to taunt the fishermen. These days, french children use the day to try and stick a paper fish on other peoples' backs (especially their teachers'!)
I hope you're all doing well, and have a happy April Fool's!
Love,
Em
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)