let it snow let it snow let it snow

23/3/2008

it's snowing in strasbourg! i walked outside (very early to catch my train) and there it was, falling softly and covering everything in white. joyeuses paques!

yesterday was a busy one! i woke up for breakfast, but didn't need an alarm because my lovely roommates made even more noise than the day before from 5:30-7. it was ridiculous! i saw the soccer boys and wished them good luck before heading off into the city. at breakfast i also met a nice girl from sanfran who was studying in grenoble.

saturday is market day so i checked out the book and poster selection then the food market which included seafood, meats, fruits, veggies, cheeses, etc. then i hit the museums, which really weren't that great honestly but interesting enough to make me visit. also, it was freezing and i'd done enough wandering for the two days before.

so i studied archeology, decorative arts, fine arts, and the history alsatian life. by the end of all that i was done! somewhere in between i stopped for lunch - pizza with olives, asparagus, artichoke, mushrooms, and bell peppers. between that pizza, the wine, and the museums i was exhausted but determined to visit two stores: un noel en alsace and au paradis des pains d'epices. the first is a year round christmas store (other than jan & feb... even christmas needs a small break.) so of course i was ecstatic. the other is a tiny bread shop that makes ginger breads in many various flavors. i bought a sack of what i think was their regular gingerbread and a bag of creme brulee easter eggs.

after walking petite france some more i headed back for a much needed nap. as much as i wanted to call it a night, i knew i still had to have the alsatian specialty for dinner - choucroutte, or saurkraut. i chose a restaurant called la petite venise near the water in petite france. it was very cozy and the food was good too!

i guess i lost track of time because when i got back to the hostel it was about 10:30. the soccer boys were in the same spot, the game room right by my bedroom, so i had some beer and wine with them before getting ready for bed. they won 2 or 3 matches, which is good apparently! after my shower i walked in to a party in my room. there were about 7 people, boys and girls, in my tiny 4-bed dorm room. they were a mix of french, spanish, green, peruvian, and that might be it. emmanuel, who took the bed above mine, was french, but spoke english and spanish. she was very nice in a crazy kind of way!

luckily they ended the party and i went to bed, but didn't sleep well due to a 3am phone call from dad telling me he missed the flight in philly and wouldn't arrive in paris til 1:30. so now i am sitting at the laundromat next to our hotel waiting on him which actually works out.. i have no clean underwear after today! (sorry if that was tmi!) but the funny thing is that i was wearing my jeans without thinking and they desperately needed to be washed. since i was alone in the place i decided to pull a changeroo right here, where really the whole world could see me because the entire front of the place is windows. i don't think anyone saw me, but if they did then they sure got a show! anyway write more later tonight...

later the same night:
well dad finally got here... almost 12 hours late. after missing the flight in philly he was sent on british airways to london. of course mother nature decided it was time for a blizzard so he was stuck in heathrow and could get to paris until about 5pm. needless to say missed easter mass at notre-dame and walked around the st-germain area of the latin quarter then looked at notre-dame.

for dinner we feasted! marinated muscles, leg of lamb, beef bourguingon, wine, wine, wine, and and creme brulee.

on our way back to the hotel we ran into gewwa and her boyfriend at the little corner store. i had met them earlier at a cafe when i was waiting for dad. she is from spain and he is from mexico. they met because her sister was doing a conversation exchange with him. dad and i were about to buy some more wine but decided to get a drink together somewhere instead. they are so much fun and dad and i can't wait for the wedding in madrid! lots to do tomorrow since we missed out today!